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By Glen Avis
Yeyo El Ama de Mexico in Rogers, Arizona features epazote in their Tortillas de Huazontle
“I used epazote, man! Hold on, one second. You are going to love this. I made this just for you! Never in your life have you tasted something so delicious, it's true.”
This passage from Season 4 of the TV show “Better Call Saul” was not spoken in a Mexican restaurant, but it might well have been, since Mexican chefs have long understood the power of epazote. The herb is used in cuisine throughout southern Mexican and Guatemala.
Epazote, pronounced eh-puh-ZOE-tay, adds a pungent, minty flavor. Creative chefs use it to enhance the flavor of common menu items such as refried beans, upscale dishes such as elaborate elotes, beverages such as Mexican Tea, and even desserts.
The Plant
The Epazote plant grows up to 4 feet high and has dark green jagged leaves and flowers with thousands of tiny seeds. The plant is native to China, Pakistan, Russia, Turkestan, and Kyrgyzstan and is now grown throughout the world. Depending on location it is called stinky sweat, pazote, ipasote, apazote, hierba hedionda, pazoli, paico, goosefoot, skunk weed, or wormseed.
The plant is readily found in the wild, especially along stream beds. It is also easily cultivated from wild seeds in moist soil. If you don’t want to grow the plant yourself, seeds, leafs, stems, and powder can be purchased from specialty spice vendors.
Chef Manny Barella's elotes
Uses of Epazote
Fresh epazote leaves and stems add a minty flavor to dishes. Older leaves give a stronger flavor.
Dried epazote is not as flavorable. It is frequently used with black beans, mushrooms, and corn stews. Sprigs are sometimes put in quesadillas.
Refried beans can be enhanced by adding one sprig of epazote per pound of dried beans. The epazote goes into the pot during the last few minutes of cooking, after the beans have become soft.
A simple beverage called Jesuit’s Tea can be brewed by steeping a teaspoon of fresh or dried epazote leaves in a cup of boiling water.
Epazote is found in many Mexican restaurant dishes. The aptly named El Epazote Cocina Regional in Madera, California focuses on the cuisine of Oaxaca, and states on its website: “We’re honored and proud to bring epazote to you throughout our delicious menu!”
Among the restaurant's epazote-enhanced dishes are Empanada de Amarillo (homemade corn tortilla filled with shredded chicken, mole amarillo, Oaxacan cheese [quesillo], and epazote hero) and Quesadilla Oaxaqueña (homemade corn tortilla filled with Oaxaca cheese and your choice of pumpkin flower [seasonal], huitlacoche-corn truffle, or mushrooms, topped with epazote herb and salsa verde).
Bellota, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Denver and Boulder, Colorado, adds epazote to its Elotes (click here for the recipe). And Yeyo El Ama de Mexico in Rogers, Arizona features epazote in their Tortillas de Huazontle (click here for the recipe).
Epazote even can be used in desserts. Click here to check out this recipe for Epazote and Hoja Santa Ice Cream by Chef German Garcia Tamez.
Besides giving a distinctive flavor to dishes, Epazote has carminative, or gas-relieving properties. A pot of beans with epazote can become more enjoyable!
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