Waka waka... guacamole!

Tortillas. Guacamole. Salsa bandera.

Mexican food has arrived in France. The source: moi.

For the past two weekends, I have made some of my Mexican background's traditional food. I stayed with my French friend and his family at Linselles (30 minutes from Lille) where I attempted to make tortillas or galettes from scratch... for the first time.

I asked my mom for the recipe knowing very well that she would not have the exact measures for the flour, salt and vinegar oil (because she knows it by heart). Either way, I tried making the mélange with these three ingredients and adding water as I kept mixing. This made about 10 small balls of dough.

Yes, like my mom said, I did regret not paying attention to the tortilla-making when I was back home helping my abuela. For having only a few ingredients, tortillas are certainly a compliqué task especially if you want to make them round. I truly value my grandma's cooking skills that probably took a lot of practice to perfect.

Thankfully, my friend's dad came to the rescue by pressing the dough with a rounded cup. He made them thin until the the balls where evenly flattened. Once done, we put them into a frying pan, and they started to rise (good sign of a tortilla we realized). If the pan is greased beforehand, then the tortilla will be thick and eventually harden.

In between the tortilla-making, I made some salsa bandera (tomatoes, onions fresh from their jardin, salt and pepper). With some ripe avocados bought from le supermarché, my friend's 11-year-old sister (mon assistante) and I made some guacamole.

I was contente to share this experience and my culture with my friend's family. They were happy as well to eat some of this Mexican cuisine for the apperitif.

Next on the menu is... well, on verra (we shall see)!

Enchiladas en Francia

Si... there are tortillas in France. I went to le supermarché to buy all the ingredients for the enchiladas, a Mexican cuisine that consists of rolled up chicken tortillas on tomato sauce with melted mozzarella cheese on top.

One day before my one-week stay came to an end with my friend, Morgan, and his French family, I decided to express my thanks in a culinary way. I opted to make one of my Mexican background's special dishes-- enchiladas.

Accompanied by Morgan's 11-year-old sister, Gladys, I went to the French supermarket, Simply, around the corner with my list to faire les courses. I found everything necessary: chicken thighs, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, tortillas de maïs.

With the help of the petite Gladys and her mom, I began to cuisiner. La cuisine was more than my cooking forum that day; it was my first kitchen French lesson.

I seasoned the vegetables and chicken with sel and poivre. I coupé, roulé and mélangé the nourriture. Then, I left the red rice on the fourneau to cook and put a pan of enchiladas in the four for the cheese to fondre.



After two and a half hours in the kitchen, the plat principal was ready. Morgan's family liked the enchiladas and saved a whole pan ready to put in the oven for the next day. I was happy to have learned something edible from my mom and friends back home.

Knowing a little of my background helped me share it that day in Linselles, France. In exchange, I had a beautiful experience learning about the French traditions as well.

Bon apetit!