Vegan Mexico

Basic Guacamole
Makes about 1 cup
2 ripe Hass avocados, pitted and peeled
Juice of 2 limes
1/3 teaspoon salt
In a bowl or molcajete, combine the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mash to combine, but don’t make the guacamole completely smooth.

You’ll need one tub of Kite Hill brand vegan ricotta. Crumble the ricotta onto cheese cloth or wax paper, making sure that the crumbles stay separated. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt all over the crumbles. Leave this out to dry for 6 hours and you have a queso fresco that surprisingly tastes and feels like the traditional dairy version.

er, optional (I prefer ancho powder with a dash of chipotle powder)
2 sprigs fresh epazote, chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried epazote, optional
Optional Garnishes:
1 Roma tomato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small white onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/4 cup Roasted Chile Strips
Add the beans, water, onion, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and optional shortening combination (if using) to a 4-quart pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat so that the water is simmering and cook until the beans are just soft. This will take 1

1 pound dried beans (pinto, black, fava, garbanzo, or Peruvian), picked over, rinsed, and drained
10 cups water
1 small yellow or white onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt, divided
2 tablespoons vegan shortening + 1 tablespoon maple syrup + 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, combined, optional
3 to 4 tablespoons chile pow

To Soak or Not to Soak
Soaking is not necessary prior to cooking the beans for the recipes in this book. Soaking does not appreciably accelerate the cooking time for beans, but if you soak your beans for about 12 hours, they’ll begin the germination process, making them more digestible and increasing their nutrition profile. Soaking also reduces the amount of indigestible sugars found in beans, leeching some of those sugars into the water. If you do soak your beans, make sure you toss the soaking water, so you don’t cook those sugars right back into the beans.

reducing the cook time, and flavoring the beans at the same time. Do not add acidic elements to the cooking liquid at the beginning as this will prolong the cook time. Epazote is often added as a flavoring agent and to help with some of the digestion problems that can occur with beans. Kombu can also be used to mitigate the digestive problems, but if you can find epazote, that should be your first choice. Soaking beans also aids with this.
Cook the beans until they are al dente, adding more salt (about 1/4 teaspoon for each 4 to 6 cups of water) about 15 minutes before they are done. Do not cook them to the point where they are splitting. Expect your beans to take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2

Use a water-to-bean ratio of about 5 parts water to 1 part dried beans, replenishing the water as needed. Skim away any of the bits that float. These are usually just skins, debris, or partially formed beans.
Bring the pot of dried beans to a boil, then reduce them to a simmer. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt for every 4 to 6 cups of water at the beginning of the cooking process. Salt will bump magnesium from the skin of the beans, making them more permeable, re

Homemade Masa
Makes 3 cups
2 cups masa harina
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the masa harina, salt, and water, working them by hand until they are incorporated together into a dough. Form the dough into a ball. The dough should be soft, but not stick to your hands. It should not be crumbly, either. Adjust the amount of masa harina or water as needed.

If you purchase masa at a Mexican market, make sure you are getting plain masa and not masa preparada. Plain masa, which can also be called masa sin preparada or masa para tortillas, is naturally vegan.

Making Masa
Masa is the name of the corn dough from which tortillas, gorditas, tamales, and similar items are made. It’s made from nixtamalize