Tracey Mauer
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Fonda San Miguel became the first restaurant in Texas to focus exclusively on true, authentic regional Mexican cuisine from Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz and Yucatan when Tom Gilliland and the late Miguel Ravago debuted the concept in Austin in 1975.
Today — almost a half-century later — Fonda San Miguel is thriving, with Executive Chef Blanca Zesati incorporating De La Tierra dishes into a menu that continues to explore the authentic tastes and developing trends of Mexico.
As the restaurant’s website explains, “All are dishes rooted in the traditional recipes of interior and coastal regions of Mexico while returning to what the earth provides, thus the name ‘De la Tierra.’”
Zesati focuses on researching and sourcing the most authentic, up-to-date ingredients and dishes, and even has traveled to Merida and Oaxaca with Gilliland to collaborate with several renowned chefs.
One of her favorite dishes: Molotes de Platano Macho.
“We learned how to make Molotes de Plátano Macho with Chef Rodolfo Castellanos, the Top Chef winner of Mexico and chef/owner of Origen in his hometown of Oaxaca,” Zesati says. “These little football-shaped stuffed plantains are fun and quick and easy to make…and the variety of fillings you can do with the plantain is so wide.”
While the molotes can be stuffed with beans or chorizo, or any other ingredient chefs may prefer, Zesati uses Oaxaca cheese and serves the dish with mole poblano, sour cream, and queso fresco.
Molotes de Plátano Macho con Quesillo: Plantain Rolls Stuffed with Quesillo Cheese
6 each plantains
3 T. sunflower oil
Salt to taste
1 c. granulated sugar
½ lb. butter, diced
12 oz. quesillo or Oaxaca cheese, diced
All-purpose flour, as needed
1 c. canola oil for pan frying
Sour cream and queso fresco, for garnish
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. With the tip of your knife, prick the plantains. Oil and salt them very well and place on the cookie sheet. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until plantains are tender.
Peel the plantains into a medium sized bowl and discard the peel. Add the sugar and butter and smash the plantains. As it cools you may begin to scoop out 2-ounce balls. Take a ball in your hand and form a patty or puck shape.
Add 1 ounce of diced cheese in the middle of your patty, then roll the patty around the cheese to form a football shape to seal in the cheese. Once you have formed all the molotes, lightly coat them in all-purpose flour.
In a sauté pan, heat canola oil to 350°F. Once hot, add the molotes and brown on each side. You may baste the oil over to get a nice even color.
Plate with mole and garnish with sour cream and queso fresco.
Photo by Tracey Mauer