Friday Food Finds
29: The treasures of Pati Jinich, including her recipe for Date and Pecan Cake (Pastel de Dátil con Nuez)
Watch just a few minutes of Pati Jinich on her award-winning PBS television show, Pati’s Mexican Table, and you’ll likely be charmed into cooking one or all of her recipes. Pati is ebullient with a side of warmth. Her joy and curiosity is infectious, while her ability to make everyone feel included and welcome is exactly what we need more of in this world.
I had the privilege of (virtually) working with Pati a couple of years ago for a project at King Arthur. Every time we met, I marveled at how positive and enthusiastic she was. Her energy meant that no matter the context of our meetings, everyone left with an ear-to-ear smile on their faces (how many meetings can you say that about?). At the height of the pandemic, she helped me regain joy in cooking as I worked my way through many of her recipes and learned about the innumerable flavors and techniques of Mexican cuisine.
I could easily go on and on about Pati’s jubilant, warm-hearted personality, but you can witness that for yourself (if you haven’t already) by watching any of her TV shows or other videos or by diving into the variety of other media that features her.
Today, I want to highlight Pati’s teaching excellence. From serving as the resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington D.C., to formulating recipes for home cooks, to sharing the verifiable trove of beloved Mexican recipes and the cultures and stories behind them; it’s clear that Pati genuinely loves to teach just as much as she loves to cook. And she truly does excel at it.
Every little bit of Pati’s content is likely to teach you something. In Pati’s Mexican Table she introduces us, her audience, to Mexican food traditions through the people maintaining its vibrancy. At once we learn about humanity and food and how they intertwine relentlessly in every household, eatery/restaurant, community, and culture she visits. She doesn’t stop there though. She then brings us into her kitchen, to expertly teach us how to cook at-home versions of the foods she makes us so desperately want to taste.
Through Pati we can develop new levels of empathy as well. In La Frontera, her PBS Primetime debut last year, Pati navigates the misunderstood — and often controversial — US-Mexican border through the lens of food and other cultural touch points (like art, music, and sports). She teaches us that the border is not a matter of security or politics, but one of livelihood and cultural connectedness. With her personable interviewing skills, she brings us closer to the people for whom the border is part of everyday life, instilling a compassionate understanding of the reality of their lives.
Pati’s latest cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table is an amalgamation of much of what she’s discovered and taught in the years she has spent exploring her native country. It collects recipes featuring native ingredients that date back hundreds and even thousands of years, as well as more modern, post-colonial, dishes that embrace the multiculturalism that exists in Mexico today. They’re all recipes that she has cooked repeatedly, to ensure they’re sharp enough for our kitchens. Or as Pati puts it:
When somebody has a knack for getting the flavor of a dish just right, so that you want to come back for more, we say that he or she has buen sazón. These recipes are written to help guide you to that buen sazón.
I’ve cooked many of the recipes from Pati’s book over the past year (maybe you remember me mentioning a Pinto Bean Soup with Masa Dumplings/Sopa de Ombligo months ago?), and every page I turn to opens my eyes a little bit wider to the depth and breadth of Mexican cuisine. The following Date and Pecan Cake/Pastel de Dátil con Nuez has been a favorite of mine, so I am grateful to Pati and her team for letting me share it with you today.
From the headnotes (the text before the ingredient list) you’ll get a sense for Pati’s knowledge-forward story-telling. You’ll also discover a nugget of information about Mexico’s two Californias from a note that’s included alongside the recipe (at the bottom here). Together with Pati’s warm, approachable voice — and a dynamite finished cake — I hope this recipe will convince you to explore all of what Pati Jinich has to offer. I think you’ll find yourself charmed and with new knowledge again and again — not to mention really hungry!
Date and Pecan Cake / Pastel de Dátil con Nuez
Republished from Treasures of the Mexican Table with permission from Pati Jinich.
The Spanish brought dates to Mexico in the seventeenth century. In the beginning, they were mostly cultivated by missionaries in Baja California Sur, and then, as more missions were established, in Baja California Norte. This moist, sweet cake has a rich, dense, marzipan-like texture. It's perfect not only for dessert but also as a midmorning or afternoon treat with a cup of coffee or tea. Serves 10 Ingredients - 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pitted Medjool dates (about 8 ounces) - 3/4 cup boiling water - 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan - 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan - 1 teaspoon baking soda - pinch of kosher salt - 2 large eggs - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 1 cup granulated sugar - 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans - confectioners' sugar for dusting Directions Place the dates in a small bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, until soft. Every once in a while, press the dates down into the water. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with a rack in the middle. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Transfer the dates, with their soaking water, to a blender or food processor and pulse to a coarse puree. Add the eggs and vanilla and pulse to combine. Add the melted butter and granulated sugar and pulse until well mixed. Add the pecans and blend to a smooth puree. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and scrape in the date mixture. Fold it into the flour with a silicone spatula until you have a thick batter. Scrape it into the cake pan and smooth the top with an offset (or the silicone) spatula. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cake is browned and slightly crusty, with some cracks on top. A toothpick inserted in the center of the cake should come out with moist but not wet crumbs. Cool completely in the pan on a rack. Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan, place a plate over the top, and turn the cake out onto the plate, then invert onto a serving platter (rounded side up). Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
California Cuisine
Mexico has its own Californias, two of them, in fact (it ceded a third one to the United States after the Mexican-American War). Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur, the last Mexican territories to become states, occupy the peninsula south of the Mexico-California border, with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Sea of Cortez on the other. A newish regional Mexican cuisine has evolved in Baja, which profits from a Mediterranean terroir and climate, with hot days and cold nights and dry, rocky soil that lends itself well to growing olives, grapes, tomatoes, and dates. The food also profits from vigorous immigration into the Baja Peninsula from other states of Mexico that has brought along with it bold culinary ideas, new recipes, and talent.
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Best,
Charlotte