Browse Techniques

Chinese Buddhist temple cuisine (zhai cai) is a sophisticated vegan tradition that abstains from the 'five pungents' (wu hun): onion, garlic, leeks, shallots, and chives — considered to stimulate aggression. Instead, it relies on naturally savoury ingredients: fermented soybeans, mushrooms, lotus seeds, tofu preparations, and seasonal vegetables. High-end temple cuisine features 'mock meat' preparations using tofu skin, seitan, and taro to mimic the appearance and texture of meat.

Chinese Buddhist cuisine (zhai fan, 斋饭) spans 2,000 years, with temple kitchens developing extraordinary mock-meat techniques using wheat gluten (mian jin), tofu skins (fu pi), mushrooms, and lotus. The goal is not merely to imitate meat but to achieve complex textures and umami depth that satisfy and nourish without harming life. Major centres: Hangzhou's Lingyin Temple, Shanghai's Jade Buddha Temple.

The bunya nut is large (3–5cm), enclosed in a massive cone that can weigh 10kg or more (a falling bunya cone can cause serious injury — traditional owners knew to camp at safe distances from the trees). The nut has a flavour similar to chestnut but richer, with a starchier, more waxy texture. It can be eaten raw (with a slightly astringent, green flavour), roasted on coals (which develops a sweet, nutty, almost potato-like character), or ground into paste/flour.

Sephardic Jewish puff pastry or filo triangles filled with potato-cheese, spinach-cheese, or mushroom — a standard of Israeli street food and home baking that traces to the Sephardic communities of Turkey and the Balkans who brought their börek tradition to the Land of Israel in the early 20th century. Israeli burekas are baked, not fried, and the standard shape is a triangle (potato-cheese) or rectangle (spinach); the surface is brushed with egg wash and covered in sesame seeds. The pastry can be puff pastry (most Israeli commercial varieties) or thinner filo (home traditions from Turkish Sephardic families). The shape codes the filling in Israeli bakery tradition: triangle = potato, rectangle = spinach, round = mushroom.

Buridda is the broader Ligurian stew tradition for firm-fleshed fish — more structured than ciuppin, made with identifiable pieces of fish rather than breaking them down for a purée. The most classic version uses stockfish (stoccafisso) or salt cod (baccalà), softened and flaked, braised with onion, anchovy, pine nuts, capers, black olives, dried mushrooms, and white wine. The combination of umami elements (anchovy, dried mushroom), brine (capers, olives), and the neutral body of the salt fish creates one of Liguria's most complex seafood preparations.

Buri (ブリ, Seriola quinqueradiata — Japanese amberjack or yellowtail) is one of Japan's most important fish for understanding the cultural concept of shun (peak seasonality) and the naming convention applied to fish that mature through multiple market-recognised life stages. Hamachi refers to young yellowtail (approximately 30–60cm, 1–3 kg) — farmed in Kagoshima, Kochi, and Ehime prefectures in enormous quantities; inada and wakashi refer to wild juveniles at various earlier stages. Buri is the fully mature wild adult (over 7 kg, caught in winter in the Sea of Japan) — and the most prestigious form. The specific subspecies identity of 'Toyama-wan buri' or 'noto buri' from Japan's Sea of Japan coast in November–February (kan-buri — 'cold-season yellowtail') is considered Japan's finest table fish in this category: the fish migrates from Hokkaido southward through the cold Tsushima Current, accumulating exceptional fat reserves (up to 25% fat by weight in the belly — toro-equivalent richness) for the winter. Buri shabu-shabu (thin slices swirled through hot dashi, eaten with ponzu) is the premium winter hot pot, with the fat rendering in the dashi creating an extraordinarily rich broth. Buri daikon (yellowtail with daikon in a soy-mirin braise) is Japan's canonical winter simmered dish — the daikon absorbs the fish's fat and flavour in a slow braise. Kan-buri sashimi — thick slices of peak-winter wild buri from Toyama Bay — is among Japan's most prized raw fish experiences.

Buri (Seriola quinqueradiata, Japanese amberjack/yellowtail) is Japan's most celebrated winter fish — a migratory predatory species that grows through a life-stage name sequence (wakashi → inada → warasa → buri) with each stage commanding increasing culinary prestige, the fully adult buri reaching peak fat content during its winter southward Pacific migration in December-February when the flesh achieves its characteristic 'white fat lines' marbling that makes it one of the richest, most intensely flavored fish in Japanese cuisine. Winter buri from the Sea of Japan coast (Toyama's Himi buri, Ishikawa buri) is considered premium — cold Sea of Japan water temperatures force the fish to build maximum fat reserves, producing dramatically different flesh quality than warm Pacific coast specimens. Kanpachi (greater amberjack) and hamachi (farmed young yellowtail) are closely related but distinct: kanpachi is wild with a cleaner, lighter flavor; farmed hamachi is reliably fatty year-round but with less complexity than wild winter buri. Preparations include: sashimi (where the fat marbling is most directly experienced), buri shabu (very thin slices briefly dipped in hot dashi), buri teriyaki (glaze caramelizes around the fish's own fat), and buri daikon (winter classic simmered preparation with daikon absorbing the rich fish broth).

Burmese curries are identified by a technique called si byan — the splitting of oil during cooking. When a curry is correctly made, the oil that was used to fry the aromatics re-emerges from the curry at the surface — the Burmese indication that the onions, garlic, and spices have been cooked long enough and at the correct temperature to transform from raw aromatic mass to fully integrated flavour base. A curry that has not yet si byan'd is not finished, regardless of how it tastes.

The masterwork of Pugliese cheesemaking: a thin Mozzarella shell filled with a mixture of fresh mozzarella shreds (stracciatella) and fresh cream, tied at the neck to form a small purse. Created in Andria (Bari province) in the 1950s by Lorenzo Bianchino as a way to use Mozzarella scraps. When cut or torn, the cream-and-stracciatella filling floods the plate in a cascade of pure milk fat and fresh-cheese shreds. Must be eaten within 24-48 hours of production — it is not a keeping cheese.

Burritos originate in Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez — a large flour tortilla rolled tightly around a simple filling of beans, meat (machaca, guisado), or potato and chile. The authentic Chihuahuan burrito is smaller and more austere than US versions — no rice, no sour cream, no excessive cheese. It is a working-class lunch food: portable, filling, single-filling. The US Mission burrito (San Francisco) is a descendant tradition, but the Chihuahuan original is fundamentally different in scale and philosophy.

Milan's ancient tripe soup — the dish that earned Milanese the nickname 'busecconi'. Honeycomb tripe slow-cooked with borlotti beans, tomatoes, celery, carrots, and sage in beef broth until collapse-tender. Finished with a shower of Parmigiano Reggiano and eaten with crusty bread. Traditionally served on Thursday evenings at Milan's old osterie.

A small (1–2cm diameter), round fruit that dries naturally on the bush in the desert sun. The dried fruit is hard, dark brown-to-black, and intensely flavoured. It is used ground as a spice or reconstituted in liquid. The flavour is umami-rich, sweet-sour, with a depth that exceeds any cultivated tomato product.

Western Sicily's fresh-tomato pesto served on busiate — handmade spiral pasta coiled around a knitting needle (ferro). The pesto is raw: almonds, fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil pounded in a mortar until coarsely textured. No cheese at table service. The dish reflects Trapani's trade history with Tunisia — the almond-tomato combination has clear North African flavor logic. Made in summer when both tomatoes and basil are at peak.

Kakuni (角煮, square simmered) is Japan's definitive long-braised pork belly — thick cubes of pork belly braised for 2-4 hours in soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar until the fat becomes completely unctuous and the meat is falling-tender. The Nagasaki style (Shippoku ryori cuisine) uses slightly different seasonings with Chinese influence (five-spice sometimes added). The Okinawan Rafute version adds awamori (Okinawan distilled spirit) and darker sugar. The central technique challenge: the fat layer must be completely rendered and become gelatinous (not greasy) while the meat remains intact. Pre-boiling in plain water for 30-60 minutes removes excess fat before seasoning.

Murgh makhani (मुर्ग मखनी — 'buttered chicken', internationally known as butter chicken) is the most consumed Indian dish worldwide, yet its technique is consistently misunderstood. The authentic preparation uses the same two-marinade system as tandoori chicken (first: lemon + salt; second: yoghurt + spice), cooks the chicken in a tandoor to develop char, and then finishes it in a tomato-butter-cream sauce that originated as a way to use leftover tandoori chicken. The sauce base — kasoori methi, butter, cream, and specifically a tomato purée cooked down until the raw tomato flavour is gone — is not a curry but a finishing sauce for already-cooked tandoor chicken.

Murgh makhani (मुर्ग मखनी, butter chicken) is the accidental creation of Kundan Lal Gujral at Moti Mahal, Delhi — leftover tandoori chicken repurposed in a tomato-butter-cream sauce. The modern restaurant version requires a two-marinade system: first marinade (lemon juice, salt, red chilli — 30 minutes, tenderises and adds acid), second marinade (yoghurt, spices, Kashmiri chilli — 24 hours, flavours and protects during high-heat cooking). The sauce is separately developed: tomatoes roasted or charred, then passed through a sieve for smoothness, cooked down with butter and cream. The dish's defining character — mild, rich, slightly sweet-tangy — comes from the tomato sauce's cooking time and the Kashmiri chilli's colour without heat.

Butterfly pea flower tea (Clitoria ternatea) is one of food science's most photogenic phenomena — an intensely blue botanical infusion that shifts to purple and then bright pink-magenta upon the addition of acidic ingredients (lemon juice, lime, hibiscus), demonstrating pH-responsive anthocyanin pigmentation that has transformed beverage presentation across Southeast Asia and global cocktail culture. The flower, native to tropical Asia and widely cultivated in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, has been used in traditional medicine and cooking for centuries — it appears in Thai blue rice (khao yam), Malay nasi kerabu, and Peranakan kueh. The dried flowers are steeped in hot water at 80–90°C for 5 minutes, releasing the anthocyanin cyanin-3,5-didiglucoside that creates the vivid Prussian blue colour. Flavour-wise, the tea is mild, slightly earthy, with faint green tea-like notes — its primary value in premium beverage applications is visual rather than flavour-forward, making it an ideal base for dramatic colour-change cocktails and premium mocktails.

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the benchmark against which all New World Cabernet is measured — a wine of concentrated black fruit, polished tannin, and commanding structure produced from California's most prestigious agricultural valley. The Napa Valley's combination of Mediterranean climate, volcanic and alluvial soils, and the moderating influence of San Pablo Bay and the Pacific Ocean creates conditions where Cabernet Sauvignon achieves full physiological ripeness without losing structure, producing wines of extraordinary concentration that can age for 20–40 years. The hierarchy of Napa sub-appellations — Oakville, Rutherford, Stags Leap District, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder — each imprints a specific terroir signature on the fruit, and understanding these sub-appellations is understanding Napa Cabernet's full range.

Cabrito al pastor is the signature dish of Monterrey — a whole young kid goat (8–12 weeks, milk-fed) roasted over coals on a spit or suspended frame. The kid is split lengthwise, seasoned simply with salt and garlic, then slow-roasted for 2–3 hours until golden and crackling. The milk-fed kid has a distinctive, mild, almost creamy sweetness different from mature goat. It is Monterrey's equivalent of Argentina's asado — identity food for the region.

Traditional Oaxacan chocolate preparation involves roasting cacao beans, removing their husks, and grinding on a heated stone metate (or at the local molino) until the cacao liquor flows. Sugar, cinnamon, and almonds are added during grinding to produce a thick, aromatic paste — Mexican chocolate. This paste is used for champurrado, atole de chocolate, hot drinking chocolate, and as a component in moles. The stone grinding produces a rougher, more rustic texture than industrial chocolate — with visible spice and nut particles throughout.

Cacciucco is the fish stew of Livorno — a tomato-based, wine-and-chilli seafood braise of extraordinary depth. The correct cacciucco uses at least five different species of fish (the dialect rule is that there must be as many 'c's in the word as there are fish varieties — the word has five 'c's). The fish cook in sequence according to their firmness: cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish, squid) first, then firm-fleshed fish (monkfish, dogfish, gurnard), then delicate shellfish last. Served over toasted garlic-rubbed bread. The broth — thick with collapsed fish and tomato — is the soul of the dish.

The Marche Adriatic coast's layered fish soup — related to Livornese cacciucco but distinct in its use of vegetables as co-equal components. A base of sautéed fennel, celery, carrot and onion in olive oil is built, then white wine deglazes, followed by passata and a generous quantity of fish scraps and heads (used to build a light brodo before being strained out). Mixed fish — typically scorfano, gronco, seppie and vongole — are added in sequence. The seppie and firm fish go first (15 minutes), then clams in their shells last (5 minutes). Served in wide bowls over slices of grilled bread rubbed with garlic, the fish laid over the soaked bread and the broth ladled over everything.

The great fish stew of Livorno: a deep red, intensely flavoured braise of at least five different species of fish and shellfish, built on a soffrito of olive oil, garlic, and sage, deglazed with red wine (not white — one of its defining characteristics), and enriched with tomato passata. The word 'cacciucco' is Ottoman Turkish in origin, reflecting the port city's Levantine trade connections. The number five is associated with the five c's in the word itself. Served over thick slices of stale bread rubbed with garlic.

Cachaça is Brazil's national spirit and the world's third most consumed spirit after baijiu and vodka, produced exclusively from fresh sugarcane juice (never molasses) by fermentation and distillation. The distinction from rum is fundamental: cachaça uses fresh-pressed cane juice (like rhum agricole) rather than molasses, capturing the raw, green, vegetal character of the sugarcane plant. Cachaça Artesanal (artisanal) is copper pot still distilled in small batches; industrial cachaça uses column stills for higher-volume production. Premium aged expressions rest in Brazilian native woods — amburana, jequitibá, umburana, and balsam — imparting completely different flavour profiles to French or American oak aging. The finest include Novo Fogo Cachaça, Avuá Amburana, Weber Haus, and Leblon.

Caciocavallo cheese 'hanged' (impiccato) over a flame — a Calabrian preparation where a whole caciocavallo is suspended on a stick above an open flame or charcoal grill, and the cheese's surface melts and drips onto bread or vegetables placed below. The cheese is turned as needed while it softens from the outside in; the crust caramelises while the interior becomes molten. Eaten by scraping the melted surface with bread, repeatedly, until the cheese is consumed. An ancient, theatrical, social eating ritual.

The theatrical table preparation of Calabria: a whole Caciocavallo Silano DOP is hung from a spit or rack over a small gas burner or open fire, directly in the flame. As the outside blisters and drips, the molten cheese is scraped onto bread or bruschetta. The 'hanged' (impiccato) name refers to the hanging position. The technique is related to the Molisano scamorza on the grill but more extreme: the cheese is held in the flame rather than on it, creating a more dramatic caramelisation on the crust.

Caciocavallo molisano is the stretched-curd cheese (pasta filata) of Molise — made from whole cow's milk, hand-stretched into the characteristic pear or gourd shape, tied at the neck with rush twine, and aged hanging in pairs straddling a wooden beam (hence 'cacio a cavallo' — cheese on horseback). The Molisani tradition produces both a young version (fresco, 2-3 months, mild and slightly elastic) and an aged version (stagionato, 6-12+ months, sharp and granular, used for grating). The cheese is part of a continuous southern Italian pasta filata tradition that runs from Campania through Basilicata, Calabria, and Molise.

One of Basilicata's most elemental preparations: a wheel or thick slice of Caciocavallo Podolico DOP — aged a minimum of six months, up to several years — placed directly on a wire grate over glowing oak or olive-wood embers. As the exterior caramelises and chars, the interior becomes molten. The cheese is transferred rapidly to a wooden board and served immediately with a drizzle of Sulla honey (from sulla clover, a Lucana speciality) and grilled country bread. The transformation from firm-aged cheese to flowing, stretchy interior happens in under four minutes over very hot coals; timing is everything.

The premium expression of southern Italy's great stretched-curd cheese tradition: Caciocavallo Podolico made from the milk of semi-wild Podolica cattle (an ancient Balkan-origin breed grazed on the aromatic wild herbs of the Lucanian Apennines). Aged 12-24 months in cool cellars, it develops an amber-brown, gnarled rind and a firm, slightly crumbly paste with a complex, almost blue-cheese-like aroma from the extraordinary milk. The Vulture volcanic area produces the finest specimens. Hung in pairs (hence 'horse cheese') on wooden beams during maturation.

Caciocavallo Silano DOP is the great pasta filata cheese of the Calabrian highlands and the broader southern Apennines (the DOP zone covers Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, and Puglia) — named for the Sila plateau of Calabria where the summer alpine pastures produce the richest milk. It is made by hand-stretching acidified curd in near-boiling water to a smooth, elastic paste, shaping into the characteristic pear or gourd form, tying at the neck, and aging in pairs hung across wooden beams (a cavallo — on horseback). Young Silano (2-3 months) is mild and elastic; aged Silano (6+ months) is sharp, granular, and intensely flavoured for grating.

One of Molise's most characteristic dishes: a simple 'cheese and eggs' preparation made by beating eggs with grated aged Pecorino Molisano and parsley, then cooking in olive oil like a frittata but stirred continuously during cooking (like a French scrambled egg) until it forms large, soft curds — somewhere between scrambled eggs and frittata. Served as a breakfast, light lunch, or in the traditional Easter ritual context. The technique requires constant stirring with a wooden fork rather than a spatula — the fork creates the characteristic loose, curded texture.

The Easter soup of Molise: a clear lamb or chicken broth enriched at the last moment by a stracciatella-like mixture of whole eggs beaten with grated aged Pecorino Molisano, fresh mint, and black pepper, poured in a thread into the simmering broth while stirring. The eggs cook in thin, irregular wisps — neither fully scrambled nor a clear broth. It is the Molisano equivalent of the Roman stracciatella or Greek avgolemono — but without lemon, richer with the sheep's milk pecorino, and perfumed with fresh mint.

The Roman pasta technique that seems simple and is not: Pecorino Romano DOP and toasted black pepper fused into a creamy coating on tonnarelli or spaghetti with nothing but pasta water and patience. There is no cream, no butter, no oil. The emulsion is achieved by tempering the grated cheese with pasta water at the right temperature (70°C — above this the cheese seizes into clumps), then tossing the pasta vigorously in the pan to create friction and emulsification.

Cacio e pepe is the most demanding technically of the Roman pasta preparations — three ingredients (pasta, Pecorino Romano, black pepper), no fat added, no cream, and the cheese must be emulsified into the pasta water to create a silky, sauce-like consistency that coats every strand without becoming glue or clumping. The preparation is ancient (the Roman shepherd's pasta, made with the hard sheep cheese carried in the pack and the black pepper from the spice trade) and requires a specific technique to achieve the correct emulsion. The failure mode is either clumped, stringy cheese or a watery pasta with no sauce. The success condition is a pasta where the cheese has become an invisible, silky coating.

Cacio e pepe is technically the most demanding of the Roman pasta canon: a sauce of Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and pasta water — nothing else. No butter, no cream, no oil. The cheese must be emulsified into the starchy pasta water to form a smooth, coating cream that clings to the pasta without clumping or becoming a stringy mass. Every professional cook who has cooked it for the first time has produced a clumped, greasy failure. The emulsification requires temperature control, the right pasta water starch concentration, and specific technique.

A flambéed coffee drink prepared tableside in a brûlot bowl (a wide, shallow, silver or copper bowl with a burner underneath). Brandy, sugar cubes, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, and long spirals of orange and lemon zest are combined in the bowl and ignited. The burning brandy is ladled over the citrus peel — the oils in the peel ignite and the zest caramelises. When the flame begins to die, strong, hot, dark-roast New Orleans coffee is slowly poured in, extinguishing the flame and combining with the spiced brandy. The mixture is ladled into small brûlot cups (not standard coffee cups) and served immediately.

A round, golden, skillet-shaped bread with a bottom crust dark enough to be almost caramelised, a top that is golden and slightly cracked, and an interior that is moist, crumbly, and barely sweet. The texture is coarse — the stone-ground cornmeal should be perceptible as individual particles, not as a smooth batter. The crust should audibly crunch when broken. The buttermilk tang should be detectable beneath the corn sweetness.

Crumbled cornbread (day-old, preferably cast-iron skillet cornbread — see LA3-12) combined with sautéed ground pork, the trinity, garlic, Cajun seasoning, stock (turkey, chicken, or pork), and egg as binder. Baked in a large pan until the top is golden-brown and the interior is moist and set. The texture should be moist but not wet, crumbly but cohesive enough to scoop cleanly. The cornbread should retain some texture — not dissolved into a uniform paste.

A box-shaped outdoor roaster where heat comes from above (charcoal on the lid) and the meat sits below, surrounded by insulated walls. The meat roasts slowly in its own juices — the drippings fall downward (away from the heat source), collect in the bottom of the box, and the closed environment creates a combination of roasting and steaming that produces extraordinarily moist, evenly cooked results. A whole pig emerges from a Cajun microwave with crackling skin on top (closest to the heat) and fall-apart tender meat throughout.

Ring-shaped pasta (calamarata — large, wide rings designed to mimic squid rings) with fresh calamari and Vesuvian cherry tomatoes (Pomodoro del Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP). The calamari are cleaned and cut into rings matching the pasta's width, then quickly sautéed in olive oil with garlic; the Piennolo cherry tomatoes are added burst-cooked in the oil for 3–4 minutes before the pasta water and al dente pasta are added. The entire dish cooks in 15 minutes from cleaned calamari to plate — speed is the technique.

Sweet-savoury fried pastry half-moons from Marche, traditionally made at Easter. A short egg-and-lard pastry encases a filling of fresh pecorino (or ricotta), eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and sometimes saffron or cinnamon. Fried golden in lard or olive oil. The salt-forward pastry against the lightly sweet cheese filling is characteristic of central Italian pastry that straddles savoury and sweet.

Calcioni (also called calzoni dolci in some variants) are the definitive sweet pastry of Molise at Easter: small, half-moon shaped pastries with a short, lard-enriched pastry dough encasing a filling of fresh sheep's ricotta, egg, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest. They are fried in lard (traditionally) or olive oil until golden, then dusted with icing sugar or honey. The combination of the barely-sweet, rich pastry and the lightly sweetened, citrus-scented ricotta is one of the most satisfying expressions of southern Italian pasticceria — not cloying, not dramatic, simply correct.

Dried shrimp broth from the Pacific coast — dried shrimp toasted and rehydrated, blended into a rich, intensely flavoured soup base with chile colorado, tomato, and potato. A northern staple during Lent.

Caldillo durangense is the signature stew of Durango — beef chunks braised in a broth made with roasted green chile (Anaheim or Hatch), fresh tomato, garlic, and cumin. Unlike the red chile stews of further-south Mexico, caldillo uses fresh roasted green chile as the defining flavour. It is a straightforward, rustic stew: beef browned, then simmered in the green chile broth for 1–2 hours. Served with flour tortillas and frijoles in Durango tradition.

Caldo de frijol negro is not the same as black bean soup — it is the pure, strained broth from frijoles de olla (black beans cooked with avocado leaf, epazote, and lard), served as a light first course or as a sipping broth with fresh tortillas. The broth is deep purple-black, rich from the bean liquor, and has a distinctive herbal note from the avocado leaf and epazote. A very Oaxacan preparation — most of Mexico eats beans for substance, but Oaxacans also drink the broth on its own as a starter or drink.

Mexican chicken broth (caldo de pollo) differs from European stock in its aromatic profile — charred onion and garlic (comal-blackened), fresh herbs (cilantro, epazote), and serrano or jalapeño provide a distinctly different base than Western mirepoix. A whole chicken (or carcass + pieces) simmers slowly for 1.5–2 hours. The resulting broth is the foundation for soups, rice, tamale masa, and sauces. The charred aromatics give it a distinctive smoky-sweet depth.

Mexican beef bone broth soup — large bone-in beef cuts (shank, short rib, marrow bones) simmered for hours with vegetables, charred onion, tomato, and herbs. Served with corn, chayote, squash, and cabbage.

Caldo de res is Mexico's hearty bone-in beef soup — beef shank, ribs, or chuck with marrow bones, cooked with corn on the cob, chayote, carrot, potato, and cabbage in a fragrant broth. Unlike European beef stock (strained, refined), caldo de res is a complete meal — the meat, bones, and vegetables are all served together in large portions with the broth. A Sunday family dish that exemplifies Mexican home cooking at its most generous and nourishing.

Mexico City chipotle-spiked chicken and chickpea soup, originating in Tlalpan. Dark broth built from charred tomato and chipotle, finished with epazote and fresh avocado.

Caldo tlalpeño is a Mexico City–origin soup — a rich broth of chicken, chickpeas, and pasilla or chipotle chile, with epazote. It originated in Tlalpan (now a borough of Mexico City), historically a summer resort area where this soup was the specialty. The combination of chickpeas (garbanzos — introduced by Spain) and dried chile in a chicken broth is a uniquely Mexican fusion. Garnished with avocado, sour cream, and dried chile on the side.