Roberto Santibanez

So far, I have made two of the salsas in this book, both delicious. The one I made today--roasted tomatillo salsa with chipotle pepper. I can't believe that all of these years I've been looking for good salsa in the store (and very disappointed with the options) when it is this easy to make really good salsa. This book has gorgeous photos and tells you the all important details of chili varieties and how to roast them. Most of the entrees are meat, but there are tons of salsa and sauce recipes, so it is easy enough to make the recipes vegetarian.… (més)

Truly Mexican is a gorgeous, full color Mexican cookbook by chef Roberto Santibanez. The book is designed to be extremely user friendly with no dust jacket (I hate those on cookbooks!), easy to read, color coded charts for fresh and dried chiles, and lots of variations, tips, substitutions, and serving suggestions. It is really stunning too with lots of full page, full color photographs that have you drooling over the recipes. I cooked exclusively out of Truly Mexican for a recent party and it was a big hit. Here are the recipes I made:

Carnitas -
These were easy to make, didn't require any hard to find ingredients, and turned out really, really good. They were better than any carnitas I have had in a restaurant and I've tried a lot. This cookbook is worth buying for this recipe alone!!

Adobo Braised Lamb-
This was good, but not the best Mexican lamb recipe I've made. It wasn't as flavorful as I would have liked and the lamb was not quite tender enough. I think next time I would marinate the lamb, maybe even cube it, and cook it longer. Still, everyone at the party liked it and there was none leftover.

Beet Salsa with Habanero-
Really delicious with a great kick from the habanero. The sweet and spicy make a lovely combination and its very versatile as a salsa or a side dish.

Jalisco-Style Guajillo Salsa -
Very quick and easy and this made a nice, smooth salsa for the lamb and carnitas tacos. Lots of strong flavor, this is more of a sauce then a salsa you would eat in large quantities. Still it even made a nice addition for dipping chips to cut the sweetness of some of the other salsas.

Cucumber Salsa -
Amazing! Santibanez came up with this pico recipe for times when you want a fresh salsa and don't have good tomatoes. Its so good I may never make pico de gallo again. Fresh, crisp, spicy, and mildly fruity I will make this often.

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa -
Nicely tart and acidic with a lower heat level than some of his other salsas. This salsa was good for cutting some of the richness of the main dishes and for cooling off fiery mouths.

This is the best Mexican cookbook I've found to date. I will reach for it over and over whether I'm doing a simple weeknight meal or cooking for guests.… (més)