In Mexican cuisine when you see a dish that has “a la mexicana” in it’s title it simply means Mexican style. More specifically it denotes that green chilies, white onions and red tomatoes were used in it’s preparation. These three colours are the Mexican flag, and hence the term “a la mexicana”. Additionally the tree vegetables are very important to and almost always present in the dishes of Mexico.
The other day I had such a strong craving for broccoli. Normally I just steam it but this day I wanted something different, I wanted to include Mexican flavours with the broccoli. I thought what better way than to keep it simple and go for an a la mexicana recipe creation. The only problem was that I had run out of white onions and only had the purple variety — which are still used in Mexican cuisine, most commonly in the dishes of the Yucatan Peninsula. The results were fantastic and I will definitely be making broccoli this way for years to come.
I served the broccoli alongside our soyrizo tacos, and it was perfect. It was so simple yet so delicious! It’s always the little things, you know? And you know what else? The broccoli also tastes amazing inside warm corn tortillas. I made broccoli tacos as we ate and they were yummy ones too! The meal was great.
- one small head of broccoli
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- half of a medium onion (either red or white variety), finely chopped
- 2 jalapeño chiles, finely chopped
- 2 medium Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt salt, adjust to taste
- First we prepare the head of broccoli: you want to remove as much of the stem as possible to cut up small even sized florets. This is very important so we can achieve a fast and even cooking. Set aside.
- In a large pan heat the oil, once hot add the chopped onion and jalapeño bits and sauté until both are soft. Next add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle the salt over them. Stir to well combine and allow the tomatoes to cook down until mushy. Lastly add the small broccoli florets into the pan and give the ingredients a good stir — we want to incorporate the flavours as best as possible. Allow the broccoli to cook to desired tenderness, taste and adjust salt if necessary. Serve as a side-dish or inside tortillas as tacos. If you have any leftovers they work great mixed with lightly beaten eggs and cooked as a frittata or omelette.
I’d like to try this with warm tortillas or soft tacos. Crunchy and fresh!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
I hope you do Julie, it tastes great! Thanks:)
Looks tasty!
Yes, yes, yes I want to make these! What a creative way to jazz up a typically boring vegetable.
Simple and fun–nice recipe to creatively dress up broccoli.