- There's a little town called El Tuito, which is a fabulous town, and they have a little bakery that's in someone's house, and the husband built this huge wood-fired oven, and they made these cookies, and they were really good.

- Mm-hmm.

- So that's what I like about travel.

You sort of come across, unexpectedly, these great recipes.

- Yeah, and then we get to make them here.

- No tomatoes, and all the flavor in the world.

- On the West Coast of Mexico, you'll find probably the best grilled shrimp you've ever had.

- This is a great, simple recipe.

- And you know that from experience.

- Yes, yes, I learned these things the hard way.

- So you can see these are getting tons of char on them.

You'd never know we didn't do this on the grill.

- Oh, it's beautiful.

(both laugh) (laughing): Getting the hang of it.

- That's really good.

I want that on my table, every day, on everything.

- So let's get started.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - In a recent trip to Jalisco-- this is on Mexico's Pacific Coast-- I came across more than a few simple classics, starting with a corn flour cinnamon butter cookie, then a new way of preparing grilled shrimp using not just lime juice, but also Worcestershire sauce.

And finally, one of my favorite recipes, salsa macha, an incredible salsa made with nuts, chilies, and cocoa nibs.

Please stay tuned.

♪ ♪ In Jalisco, you can find the expected: tourist beaches, trucks selling ceviche, outdoor restaurants grilling fish.

But drive an hour away from the coast, and you'll find a small town called El Tuito.

There I met Mario, who runs the restaurant on the main square.

He tells me he came back to town after finishing law school because, well, there's no place like El Tuito.

- (speaking Spanish): ♪ ♪ - Mario's machaca is an egg scramble with beef and vegetables.

It is, I think, the perfect breakfast.

♪ ♪ - (speaking Spanish): ♪ ♪ - Down the road, we pass agave fields, which is used to make raicilla, a regional spirit distilled from agave, like tequila and mescal.

On his ranch, Rosalío makes it the old-fashioned way.

♪ ♪ - (speaking Spanish): ♪ ♪ - (speaking Spanish): RODRÍGUEZ RENTERÍA: (musicians playing, people singing in Spanish) ♪ ♪ - Back in town, I stop at a home bakery where everything is baked in a homemade clay oven.

There are local breads with a slight flavor of firewood, plus buns, doughnuts, and butter cookies made from corn.

♪ ♪ - (speaking Spanish): ♪ ♪ - As Mario says, the beauty of El Tuito is to do nothing.

Although it seems like everyone is either cooking, or eating, or both.

♪ ♪ So I was in Jalisco a few months ago, in Mexico.

It's on the Pacific Coast, it's a state.

Puerto Vallarta, of course, is there, but I didn't spend much time there.

I drove down south and inland, and there's a little town called El Tuito.

Has a square, it's, like, 7,000 people.

It's just, fabulous town.

And they have a little bakery that's in someone's house.

It's a one-story house, and you go in the back, and the bakery's sort of open-air.

- Mm-hmm.

- And the husband built this huge wood-fired oven, and they made these cookies, and they were really good.

- Mm-hmm.

- So, that's what I like about travel, you sort of come across, unexpectedly, these great recipes.

- Yeah, and then we get to make them here.

- So let's get started.

- This is a great, simple recipe, and these cookies are wonderful.

They're like little shortbread cookies.

They're really delicate and they're really light.

And the reason is the main ingredient is masa harina, which is the same thing that's used in, like, corn tortillas.

And it is basically corn that is treated in an alkaline solution, which softens it.

But it... What's really interesting is, it removes the hull and it softens the starches, which enables this to be made into a really nice, soft dough that, you know, can make our cookies, and it's also gluten-free.

So if you wouldn't mind starting with mixing a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

And we have a half a teaspoon of table salt and one-and-a-half teaspoons of baking powder.

Just going to whisk that together.

And I'm going to get started over here with our softened butter, we have 12 tablespoons.

And go ahead and add half a cup of sugar, and one egg, which is room temperature.

And then one-and-a-half teaspoons vanilla extract.

Okay, so I'm just going to go ahead and mix this on medium speed until it's nice and light, which is about two minutes.

Okay, that looks good.

I'm going to turn it down to low speed.

- Can I ask you a question?

- Yes.

- What does "it looks good" mean?

- (laughs) - These are typical bakers, like, "It looks good."

- Yup, it's ready, it's done.

(laughs) - What are you looking for?

- You want it to be nice, and light, and creamy.

It's really not creaming because we've already added the egg and the vanilla, but we're just kind of aerating a little bit, and making sure all the ingredients are combined.

Okay, so now it's on low speed.

I'm going to go ahead and add the flour mixture.

And I'm mixing it on low not because I'm worried about the gluten development, right, because there's no gluten in this flour, but if I did it on high speed, it would fly out of the bowl and go all over the place.

- And you know that from experience.

- Yes, yes, I learned these things the hard way.

Okay, now, the last thing we're going to add is just a quarter-cup of water.

And again, it's a little weird to add water at the end of the mixing period, but we're not worried about any kind of gluten development, and this is just going to enable the dough to come together.

- Isn't it weird adding water to a cookie dough?

I mean, I know, like, some cakes, you can add water, but... - Yeah.

It's really because we're using this masa harina, and we need the water to kind of bring it together.

And, as you can see, it's coming together nicely.

So that's about 30 seconds of mixing there, and now we're going to give it a test, to make sure that we've added enough water.

- You're giving me a test.

- I'm giving you a test.

- I could tell.

- (laughs): So each cookie needs about a tablespoon of dough.

So if you wouldn't mind just rolling that out.

- How?

- We want about a three-inch little log.

We're going to make, like, a little crescent shape.

- I do all the work around here, you know that?

I mean, it's, like, here I am, okay.

- That looks perfect.

If it was too dry, it would crack a little bit on the edges, and then you just go ahead and add a teaspoon or two more of water and keep mixing until it no longer cracks like that.

- It's like a bagel.

- Yeah, you don't want it to be too sticky, but you want it to be nice and soft, and this looks perfect, so I'm going to clean up this a little bit, and then we're going to shape the rest of the cookies.

Okay, Chris, so we're ready to start shaping these cookies, and I'm just going to grab, it's just about a level tablespoon of dough, and just going to roll it out like you did before.

And it's not too sticky, you don't need any flour for the counter, and you kind of are looking to make, like, about a three-inch-long log, and then we're just going to turn the ends in.

It's like a little closed crescent.

Kind of looks like a little tortellini.

- So there's a hole in the middle.

- There is a hole in the middle, yeah.

We're looking to get about three dozen out of this batch of dough, but we can put it all on one sheet, 'cause they're not gonna puff up.

You're gonna jump in and help me out with this?

- (chuckling): That's why you had a tablespoon in front of me, I guess - This is a great thing to do with kids.

'Cause, again, you can't really overwork this dough.

And, yeah, many hands make light work.

Oh, it's beautiful.

(both laugh) - You know... Now, you close this or not?

Or is this like a croissant?

Is this, like, a Turkish crescent thing?

- No, they should be closed.

That one's much better.

(laughs) Getting the hang of it.

So once these are all done, Chris, I'm going to go ahead and put these into a 375-degree oven.

Got the rack set in the middle position, and these are going to bake for about 13 to 15 minutes until the cookies are nice and golden brown.

Okay, so the cookies are done.

I'm going to grab them from the oven.

Oh, these smell amazing.

Look at that.

- Mm.

- You can see they didn't really poof up at all.

- Now, let me ask a question, so why... Is it because of the masa?

Like, with normal flour, you see spread, or you see... - Right, yeah, because there's not really the gluten going on.

So, yeah, I mean, they do puff up a little bit, but not the way you would expect a regular cookie.

But while these are still nice and hot, I'm going to right away sprinkle them with a little bit of granulated sugar.

And we want to do it when they're nice and hot so it sticks.

And the reason we do it after baking is because it retains the crunchiness of the sugar, which is really nice.

Okay, these look great.

I'm going to go ahead and let these cool for another ten minutes before I transfer them to a cooling rack, 'cause they're way too delicate to move right now.

- So they'll set up a little in the ten minutes?

- Yeah, mm-hmm, exactly, yeah.

And then ten minutes, I'm going to transfer them, and they can cool completely on the rack.

♪ ♪ Okay, these look great.

These are completely cool, we can go ahead and dig in.

- Well, let's be honest, they're kind of plain-looking, but they have a great flavor.

- They do have great flavor.

- I mean, they're not, like, fancy-looking cookies.

- I think that's the beauty of a cookie, is, it's just a little sweet treat that you have with your tea or your coffee.

- I don't need a plate.

- Do you want a plate?

Okay, do you want a napkin?

Probably need that.

- No, I don't need a napkin.

- No?

(laughs) - Well, I may need a napkin, but I don't think I need a napkin.

Mm... - Mm.

- That masa is really fine, and light, and delicate.

I mean, they don't look delicate, but they really are, mm.

- Mm-hmm.

They're so tender, and I love the sweetness you get.

You can taste the corn and then with that little added cinnamon.

It's just a really nice, light, delicate flavor.

These are really nice cookies.

- You know, cinnamon's a sneaky spice.

Like, in Greece, they put it in tomato sauce.

You'll find around the world, people use cinnamon in savory things, too, but there's just a hint of it.

I have this thing about, don't put cinnamon in apple pie, which... - You're not a pumpkin spice latte kind of guy?

- I've annoyed millions of people online about this.

But this is just the right amount.

- No, it's just a hint of cinnamon, yeah, it's really nice.

- Corn and cinnamon really go together in these corn and cinnamon butter cookies.

And from a little town in Jalisco called El Tuito, a little tiny bakery in someone's house, just absolutely delicious.

- Mm-hmm.

- (with full mouth): Get another one?

- Yep, go for it.

- Or two?

- (laughs) ♪ ♪ - At Restaurante Bar Fernando, on the West Coast of Mexico, you'll find probably the best grilled shrimp you've ever had, and that's because they use a 500-year-old technique for grilling seafood called zarandeado.

The shrimp gets butterflied from head to tail, marinated, put into these big metal baskets, and then grilled over a hot wood fire.

They are briny, they're savory, they're spicy, and they're really nice and smoky from that wood-fired grill.

Now, our version does a little trick, and we're going to do it inside, but we're going to get all of that same smokiness and char that you would get from the grill.

So we're going to start by talking about our shrimp.

If you can find them, I really, really strongly recommend using head-on shrimp.

The heads of the shrimp have a ton of really succulent flavor that really adds something totally different to this dish.

So if you can't find head-on shrimp, it's fine to use headless shrimp, just make sure you're using big ones.

You want these to be 16/20 or 21/25 shrimp.

Those are extra-large or jumbo.

That means they're 16 to 20 per pound or 21 to 25 per pound.

You don't want little shrimp, or when you go to butterfly these, it's going to take forever.

You want them to be shell-on and tail-on, as well.

So, to butterfly the shrimp, you're going to take a paring knife and poke into the shrimp on the belly side of the shrimp, right under the head, or where the head would have been if you're using headless shrimp, and then just sort of slice down.

You don't want to go all the way through the shrimp, you don't want to cut it in half, but you just want to make it so that you can butterfly it.

So we'll just flip it over, kind of crack the shell with your hand.

All right, so we're just going to add a teaspoon of salt and some lime juice.

The salt is really going to help ensure that these shrimp stay nice and moist.

And we're going to add this lime juice for some flavor.

It's not going to affect the shrimp itself, 'cause the shells are still on.

And this is also not going to sit very long.

This only sits on here for about 15 minutes.

So, depending on where you go in Mexico, you'll find different versions.

All the marinades are slightly different.

For this version, we're really packing it with some umami bombs, and there's really only four ingredients here.

So we've got a little bit of tomato paste, which is a great ingredient to add a lot of savoriness.

Some Worcestershire sauce, another umami favorite.

Some hot sauce.

And a little bit of granulated garlic, and that's it.

And you are going to be very surprised at how flavorful this marinade is going to make these shrimp.

Just want to mix this together, kind of break up that tomato paste, and then we'll add this to the shrimp.

Now, you really want to get in there and get this all over all of the shrimp.

This marinade has tons of flavor, but it also has a little bit of sugar from some of those ingredients.

So that's going to help us get that char on the stovetop in the cast-iron skillet.

All right, so that's going to sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.

You can let that sit for up to three hours, and then we'll come back, and we'll cook the shrimp.

♪ ♪ So you can probably see I've been preheating my cast-iron skillet, 'cause you want this to be ripping hot before you add the shrimp.

I'm going to add a little bit of oil.

You want a grapeseed oil or a neutral oil here that's got a high smoke point.

And then we're going to add half of the shrimp to start.

And if you can, you want to try to put them in meat side down, so that they get a really nice sear.

Also a very good idea to turn your hood on or open a window before you do this, 'cause it's going to get pretty smoky.

All right, so these will take about five minutes.

You want to cook them until they've got really nice char on the outside and the meat is opaque.

Stir them around as you see that they're starting to get really charred.

So you can see these are getting tons of char on them.

You'd never know we didn't do this on the grill.

All right, these look amazing.

I'm going to take these out.

Look at that char on those.

Whoo!

All right, I'm going to add a little bit more oil to the pan, and finish the rest of these up, and we will come back and get to eat them, finally.

♪ ♪ All right, these look fantastic.

Just going to pull them off the heat.

This is a great meal to kind of just throw on the table, roll up your sleeves, throw out a bunch of napkins and cold beers, and dig in.

I'm just going to squeeze a little bit of lime on these.

All right, these are camarones zarandeados.

They're from the West Coast of Mexico from Restaurante Bar Fernando.

They're briny, they're savory, they're smoky, and we did it all without even needing a grill.

♪ ♪ - Today I'm going to teach you a salsa that has no tomatoes.

Welcome to salsa macha costeña.

It features dried chilies, lots of different kinds of nuts, and a base of plentiful oil.

It's deep, dark, rich, earthy, and quite nutty, just like yours truly.

Let's get started.

So I'm bringing my heat up to medium, and I'm going to add a generous quantity of oil.

Now, it's important we don't use extra-virgin olive oil.

You can use regular olive oil or another neutral oil, but extra-virgin olive oil has too much flavor that mixes with the other flavors.

To this, I'm going to add some garlic.

And I'm going to let that cook very gently for about four minutes until it's fragrant and lightly brown.

Okay, my oil has just started to bubble, and I can get some of the fragrance of the garlic.

That tells me this stage is ready.

We're going to move on.

I have some blanched slivered almonds.

These are going to go in.

I have some peanuts-- you can use salted or unsalted, whatever you have on hand.

I have some cocoa nibs.

This is going to add lots of rich, nutty, slightly bitter undertones to the salsa.

And I'm going to add sesame seeds.

Now, we're going to cook this very gently for about eight to ten minutes, and this is to draw out all the flavor into the oil without burning or scorching anything.

So I'm going to focus on that, and when we come back, we'll finish our salsa.

Okay, the next part of this salsa is the chilies.

These are also a star ingredient.

I'm going to use three different kinds of smoked, dried chilies.

I have ancho chilies, which are actually not spicy, but they're very smoky and kind of sweet.

I have some chipotle chilies here, which are spicy.

They are dried and smoked jalapeños.

And I have some guajillo chilies here.

I'll finish this last one so you can see.

Slice this up.

It's kind of leathery and deep, deep red.

Look at that.

Just going to empty out all these seeds.

These are the seeds that carry the heat.

So we'll get some heat, but not a huge punch.

And always remember, wash your hands very well after handling chilies, before you touch your face or your eyes.

One good trick is to oil your hands lightly before you handle them, and that'll protect your hands some from the chili oil.

Okay, my garlic and nut mixture is starting to brown and become so, so, so fragrant.

I wish you could smell the room right now.

I'm going to go ahead and add in the dried chilies.

In go the guajillos, the chipotles, and finally the anchos.

This is going to cook for just about two minutes until the chilies start to soften and brighten in color.

Look at that.

Now, many people have a version of this salsa that is their own.

The base is always oil, but the ingredients can vary slightly.

We learned this one from Paola Briseñio González.

It's been about two minutes.

My chilies are bright and fragrant.

I'm going to turn off the heat and stir in some oregano.

Now, I'm going to let this cool for ten minutes, and then we're going to come back and process it.

Okay, my mixture has cooled sufficiently.

I'm going to use a slotted spoon and transfer the big solids into the food processor.

It's okay if little bits remain in the oil.

That's totally fine.

Right, so all the solids are in the food processor.

I'm keeping the remaining oil.

I'm going to use it in just a bit.

I'm also going to add some vinegar and some salt, and let's start processing this down to a purée.

So I'm going to process this for about 30 to 60 seconds, until the solids are nicely chopped up.

(whirring softly) Okay, I'm going to go ahead and add the rest of the oil.

And we're going to process this a little bit more until it's all integrated.

(pulsing) So you don't actually want to process this all the way down to an extremely smooth paste.

It's nice to have a few flecks and chunks in there.

Okay, our salsa is ready.

And now, my favorite part, we're going to get to taste it in just a moment.

♪ ♪ Okay, look at this.

It's nothing like a standard salsa.

Look at that texture and that deep, earth-red, vibrant color.

I am so excited to taste this.

Now, this salsa can be refrigerated for a long time.

It stays really, really well, and it's great on all kinds of things, from scrambled eggs, to tacos and quesadillas.

You need just a little tiny bit, 'cause it's so pungent, so potent, and absolutely fantastic.

That's really good.

I want that on my table, every day, on everything.

I really, really love this.

A salsa macha costeña, no tomatoes, and all the flavor in the world.

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