Fresh Chiles, Garlic and Onions, and Tomatoes

Griddle-Roasting Vegetables

Appears in

Zarela's Veracruz: Mexico's Simplest Cuisine

Published 2001

About

This technique is one of the most important in the Mexican kitchen. It is the secret of intense, developed flavors in tomatoes, onions, garlic, and fresh chiles. Omit this step, and you will have sabotaged the final dish by failing to concentrate the natural sugars of the ingredients. Roasting is accomplished by direct contact with the hot surface of a heavy griddle or skillet.

I have used both cast-aluminum and cast-iron skillets, and both are good. So are the nonstick equivalents, as long as they are heavy-gauge metal and have a durable heat-resistant surface, not a flimsy nonstick finish that will disintegrate with the fourth or fifth workout it gets. (Ask whether it will stand up to 45 minutes over medium heat.) Cast-iron ware is probably the easiest to find. The true Mexican clay comal (griddle) is not a practical option for most of us — even if you can find one in a Mexican neighborhood grocery, it will have a fairly short life before it cracks.