Pati's Mexican Table

Pati Narrates: Sinaloa, Mexico.

A state with such exceptional abundance from both land and sea.

Even for a state so rich with ingredients and recipes, there are a few that manage to stand out.

I'm visiting two of those today.

First, the legendary Cuchupetas which has some of the most famous seafood in all of Sinaloa.

Woah!

I don't know what to eat next.

Then I'm meeting with some legends in the making.

(laughs) A family behind one of Sinaloa's most famous breads, Pan de Mujer.

Mmm!

Irresistible.

In my kitchen I'm using two Sinaloan staples to create recipes that are bound to become favorites in your own home.

Inspired by all that shrimp from Cuchupetas, cheesy, saucy, chunky, spicy, oh-so-crave-worthy shrimp pasta bake.

And an ode to Sinaloa's fertile farmlands, I'm using chickpeas in a surprising way, in a moist and fluffy pound cake topped with whipped cream and caramelized bananas.

It's like sweet, savory, delicious!

Sammy: Yeah.

Pati Narrates: This is home cooking Sinaloa style.

Announcer: Pati's Mexican Table is made possible by: La Costena.

Over 40 years, bringing authentic Latin American flavors to your table.

Tropical Cheese.

Avocados from Mexico BanCoppel.

Your recipe for sending money to Mexico.

Chilorio.

La Chata.

Pati Narrates: In the tiny town of Villa Union just outside Mazatlan there is a legend of a man who started a seafood restaurant with just one table.

He called it Cuchupetas.

The name spread across the region, and over the many years the restaurant grew and grew to become one of the most famous restaurants in all of Mexico.

This is not folklore.

Manuel Sanchez is a living legend.

I'm joined by my dear friend Luis Osuna, a celebrated chef and restauranteur born and raised in nearby Mazatlan.

Today he's going to make me a true believer in the legend of Cuchupetas.

Pati: In Mexican Spanish slang, when something is broken, torn or crooked you say it's "cucho" but "petas" is because he liked to drink (laughs) "petas" so "Cuchupetas".

(laughs) Pati Narrates: As the years go by, Manuel buys the homes next to his restaurant and turns them into dining rooms, and so the restaurant keeps going and going.

Famous people come here.

A lot of famous people!

Pati: Oh, this is him!

The restaurant is so sprawling that the kitchen is actually across the street, and it's a lot of fun to watch the waiters carry trays back and forth.

It's here in the kitchen where the legend of Cuchupetas first began.

It is truly a sight for seafood lovers!

Oysters, crabs, pounds of fresh fish, and shrimp piled on shrimp, piled on shrimp!

Cuchupetas is famous for their Sinaloan shrimp.

(Pati gasps) I don't know what to eat next.

I mean I felt like this the moment I got to Sinaloa.

It's like, you don't know where to look, you don't know what to grab, or what to eat because everything's so good.

Why is there so much?

The legend is real and true.

Pati: Sinaloa has a couple of huge staples in their kitchens, but one of the biggest ones is shrimp.

They use shrimp in a thousand ways, in aguachile, cocktails, ceviche, soups, and I'm going to use them now for a pasta bake.

So here we have Anaheim chiles which I used to be very unfamiliar with.

The thing with Anaheim chiles is that you have to coax their flavor out, and one way to do it is to char or roast them.

If you eat the Anaheim chiles raw, you won't feel or taste that much, but if you char or roast them, their sweetness, their heat, and all their flavor sort of blooms out.

In this pasta bake I want to have many things that I experienced in Sinaloa.

I experienced the combination of the roasted Anaheims with the tomato, the garlic, the onion as a base, but I also experienced a lot of creamy and cheesy versions of shrimp, and then they have a ton of versions of shrimp with the tomato and Anaheim mix, so in this pasta bake we're doing both things together, we're getting the tomatoey, we're getting the creamy, and we want a lot of that oozy melting cheese.

I have 2 garlic cloves that I'm trying to chop really fine because we are not going to puree the sauce, it's gonna cook in there.

So you do the same thing with the Anaheim as I always do with Poblanos, and you can see this is exactly what you want.

You want it to bubble and sort of come off the flesh.

Now this is the moment when we're gonna make the chiles sweat.

You're gonna put them in a plastic bag.

You know what my mother always does when she chars or roasts her chiles?

Not only does she put them in a bag, she grabs a kitchen towel and swaddles the bag and chiles like that.

It makes no difference but it looks cute in your kitchen.

Just let them sweat 5 - 10 minutes.

Meanwhile I'm going to get the rest of my ingredients going here, I have my casserole set over medium heat.

I'm gonna add about 2 tbsp of olive oil, my whole white onion that I chopped.

We just want the onion to begin to soften and cook.

I'm gonna use 3 pounds of tomatoes on the vine.

I love crushing the tomatoes in the blender because it is fast.

(blender whirs) Pati: I don't want my tomatoes super pureed, I want them chunky.

My chiles have to be ready.

They sweated so much, look at the steam, and they smell so beautiful, like a completely different smell than when they're fresh.

Just remove the skin.

Now this is very important to know, you want the walls of the chile to stay nice and firm.

If you cook them too much they become mushy.

So this was about 1 pound of Anaheim chiles because they were very large.

I'm going to add the garlic, and the garlic is going to cook for just 20 seconds because we don't want to brown it, we just want to soften it, and you can smell it almost immediately.

So we have the Anaheim chiles.

I'm going to add a can of tomato paste because I want this casserole to be intensely tomato flavored.

We're going to add a lot of cream and cheese, so we need for the tomato flavor to kind of battle the cream and the cheese in a great way.

And now it's starting to smell like pizza sauce.

That is a good thing.

I'm gonna add 3/4 tsp of salt to start seasoning the sauce.

Some freshly ground pepper.

This sauce is going to cook down for about 30 minutes.

In the mean time I'll cook 1 pound of pasta.

I have 2 pounds of shrimp.

I want to cook the shrimp over high heat very shortly.

I just want to give it a nice brown finish on both sides, I don't want to fully cook because it is gonna be a shrimp bake and it's gonna go in the oven and finish cooking in the oven.

2 tbsp of butter.

1 tbsp of olive oil.

There are days when I am using the 10 burners in the kitchen, and those are my best and happiest days.

I'm gonna season them with salt and pepper.

You really gain a new appreciation for shrimp when you visit Sinaloa.

Their shrimp are really scrumptious because they feed in water that is really mineral rich, water that comes from the mountains that passes through natural mineral land, and then that water goes through fertile farmland, and then it gets to the shrimp, and the shrimp are just crazy delicious.

Okay, this is all coming together!

I'm gonna coarsely chop some of these cooked shrimp because I'm already thinking of how I'm going to eat this pasta bake and when I dive into it I want the most amount of shrimp bites.

It looks so good!

Mmm.

Mmm!

So delicious.

It needs a little more heat for my taste, I'm gonna add some chiltipin chiles which are one of the biggest of Sinaloa staples.

If you can't find chiltipin, you can use chile de arbol or red chile flakes.

This is one powerful chile!

Mmm!

The punch from the chiltipin, so good!

I'm gonna add about 2 cups of Mexican crema.

And now we're gonna put half the shrimp that I had left whole on top.

Mmm, mmm!

And then about a cup each of queso quesadilla.

And then I'm gonna do about a cup of queso cotija which is gonna give it that salty rich taste.

And then a cup of grated Oaxaca cheese.

This is ready to be put in the oven which will be at 450 degrees and it'll go in there for like 15 minutes.

Pati Narrates: I'm travelling Sinaloa tasting some classic, iconic Sinaloan food.

You know how I go crazy for fresh bread, right?

Well of course Sinaloa has its own special kind, and here on the coast in Altata, there's a hidden gem baking some of the best bread you'll find anywhere in the whole state.

I have a thing for foods that have charming amazing names that beg to be described, like what's the story behind a thing called "Pan de Mujer" which translates to "bread of a woman".

Hola!

Nice to meet you.

I'm Pati.

Lourdes: I am Lourdes.

Pati: Lourdes!

I've never heard the name "pan de mujer", I want the story, and I want to learn how to make the bread.

Pati: Look at this!

Beauty!

We have to plug.

(laughs) Pati Narrates: Lourdes and her family have been baking bread here for 40 years, and the recipe has always been the same.

Pati: Are you guys following?

2 buckets of flour, 1 bag of sugar, and 2 lids of yeast.

Two, two, two.

Lourdes: Two, two, two.

(laughs) Lourdes: Yes.

Lourdes: Yeah.

Pati: Yeah?

Lourdes: Yes.

Pati: It's called Pan de Mujer because it was different from the bread they used to make and it uses piloncillo.

Pati: I'm Pati.

(Lourdes husband speaks in Spanish) Pati: Ah, he's Lourdes' husband.

Pati: He says if she weren't a cook she'd be a singer.

(Pati encourages Lourdes to sing) (laughs) (Pati and Lourdes sing in Spanish) Pati: Pan de Mujer started with just this dough being filled with the piloncillo, but then the customers started demanding different fillings, and so they started filling it with pumpkin jam, cajeta and then she started adding cream cheese.

Pati: What do you add?

Newspaper?

Pati: He knew that the oven was hot enough when he sort of put his hand around there.

How do you know it's ready?

You never look at a timer.

No thermometer, no timer, truly artisanal traditional.

Pati: I have never seen this, brushing simple syrup on bread that just comes out of the oven, it's so smart!

It caramelizes as soon as you brush it.

Pati: Mmm!

Chef: Mmm.

Pati: That piloncillo has just a rustic, sweet, hardened caramel that's also a little soft, it's just irresistible.

That's why she sings all day, I'd be singing too.

Thank you!

Pati: After about 15 minutes my shrimp pasta bake is ready.

Sammy, we're gonna make a super delicious moist yummy chickpea poundcake, does it sound weird to make a chickpea poundcake?

Sammy: Yeah I would never have thought of chickpea cake.

Pati: But you're gonna see why it's so good.

We have half a pound of butter and I'm making you my ingredient beating machine because I need to use the mixer to beat the egg whites.

We're gonna mix softened butter with 1 cup of sugar, and we want to beat it until it is super creamy, and then I'll add 1/2 a tsp of cinnamon in there too.

Sammy has made some amazing souffles remember - Sammy: Oh yeah, the chocolate souffle.

Pati: Yeah!

Oh my gosh, you're fast!

Okay, I took a can of chickpeas, I drained them and pureed them in the food processor to make them a paste, see there?

I need you to add that in here.

Chickpeas are so huge in Sinaloa that not only do they have them in their main soups and stews, but they have a ton of chickpea caramel in candies, and it turns out that chickpeas are amazing for cake.

Sammy: Yeah I always thought chickpeas were only for Mediterranean food.

Pati: I know!

Sammy: When I think chickpeas I think falafel or - like not really poundcake.

Pati: Okay, I'm gonna add the egg yolks in here.

I don't think we've ever eaten chickpeas in a sweet way, no?

Sammy: Yeah that's why it was confusing, but I also think now that we've eaten almonds with so many sweet things that makes sense, but when you think about it, it's also very savory too.

Pati: Mhmm!

So I have 1/2 a cup of flour, and I'll add 2 tsp of baking powder, and then I'm adding a pinch of salt.

So I actually heard about chickpea cake a lot when I was in Sinaloa, but I didn't get to taste it, so I'm hoping we'll be doing chickpea poundcake justice here.

As you continue to beat, the egg yolks in here will give you taste and consistency, but the egg whites here, I'm going to beat them until they're super puffy, cloudy and stiff, and that's gonna give us volume.

(mixer whirs) Sammy: That's so weird, it does not look like eggs anymore.

Pati: I know!

Okay so now when you have the egg whites, you want to fold instead of beat - Sammy: So you don't ruin the consistency?

Pati: Yes!

Sammy: This is what I did for the souffle, I remember.

Pati: Yeah, there you go!

And you did it masterfully so you do the same thing.

Okay, very good.

Now here's the thing, you want to make sure that you're folding until you can't see the separated whites.

I mean you'll lose some of the puff, but you don't want to lose most of the puff.

It's more fun to cook and bake with you guys than when I cook solo, but when I cook solo I can play whatever music I want.

Okay, so this great, so now we'll put the cake in here.

I'll hold it for you and you scrape.

It smells so nice!

Okay, then... And then... Sammy: Yeah, it looks good.

Pati: Nice, okay, so we have that oven at 350 degrees, and we're gonna put that in there for 35 minutes.

Sammy: I can smell it from here.

Pati: For me it's like so strong!

I love that the sides have that nice crust.

For you.

Sammy: Oh, thank you.

Pati: Oh!

Sammy: Mmm.

It's so good.

Pati: Mmm, mmm, mmm!

It's so delicious, the pasta with the chunky sauce and it's creamy.

Sammy: It's a little bit spicy.

Pati: The heat that you taste which I love is from the chiltipin, but then immediately it gets soothed down with the cream and the cheese.

Sammy: Yeah.

I like the pasta that you used too.

Pati: Mmm, it's rigatoni.

It needs, like, nothing else!

Did you get the shrimp on top?

Sammy: Mhmm.

Pati: Let's try.

Mmm!

Mmm.

Sammy: I think this is a regular for now on.

Pati: Mhmm!

Mmm.

It puffed up nice.

Sammy: Yeah, it looks good.

Pati: And it looks moist already.

Okay, so we're gonna let it cool, and make a very simple sauteed banana topping, and I like them thick because I like to bite into them.

Mhmm, mhmm.

I'm just browning the bananas in already melted butter, and I just want to caramelize the sugar from the banana, I want to give it a nice coating, I don't want it to be super mushy.

Ah, and I want all that butter.

Sammy: Ooh.

Okay, so we're gonna mix a little confectioner sugar with cinnamon.

Ooh!

Topping with whipped cream.

Chickpea poundcake is a thing in Sinaloa!

We will see if we want to make it a thing here.

Sammy: Mmm.

Pati: Mhmm!

Sammy: It's so good.

Pati: Mmm!

Sammy: You definitely taste the chickpeas, but like you said earlier, it's like a different form of the chickpea, it's not like the usual flavor, you know?

Pati: Mhmm, but the texture, it's so amazing for the poundcake, it's like it wants to be marzipan.

Sammy: Yeah it's super soft.

Pati: I appreciate that everything I try to make you at least try to eat!

This was really like a Sinaloa inspired meal.

Pati Narrates: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit PatiJinich.com, and connect!

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @PatiJinich.

Announcer: Pati's Mexican Table is made possible by: La Costena.

A tradition of authentic Latin flavors and family recipes.

Tropical Cheese.

Avocados from Mexico BanCoppel.

Your recipe for sending money to Mexico.

Chilorio.

La Chata.

Announcer: Proud to support Pati's Mexican Table on public television.