(guitar music plays)
- [Andrew] So for those who aren't familiar
with where we are, we're in Mexico City, right?
- Yeah, this is- - This is-
- Sprawling Wilderness, it's in the middle
of one of the most densely populated cities
in the world, if not the most densely populated city.
- [Rick] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Andrew] It's incredible.
(guitar music continues)
- [Rick] Xochilmilco is a neighborhood
in the southeast part of Mexico City.
Here, you'll also find calm canals and lush farmland.
This surprising oasis gives you a glimpse
into the past and the future of agriculture.
This morning, we're going to learn about this magical place
and get a taste of what's growing
in a farm to table breakfast.
Then I'll show you how to make it at home.
I managed to convince Andrew to wake up
this morning at 4 o'clock.
I told him I had a surprise,
I wanted to show him something really spectacular,
And, what do you think?
- This is the first time I've been up before sunrise,
maybe in my life.
- Worth it? - So worth it, oh my God.
It's beautiful.
(guitar music continues)
- [Rick] The name Xochilmilco comes from two Nahuatl words
that mean "where the flowers grow".
You may have seen these canals filled
with brightly colored boats called trajineras,
but long before that, there were chinampas,
the farms that allowed the ancient city
of Tenochtitlán to thrive.
The city was built on an island in Lake Texcoco.
It was the capital of the expanding Aztec empire,
now known as Mexico City.
To support its growing population
of over 200,000 inhabitants,
they began to create floating farmland
using woven mats, supported by posts,
driven in the lake bed and layered with soil and mud.
We're going to meet my friends Anais and Joahna
at the Chinampa Del Sol,
to see the more than 50 varieties of plants they're growing
and to make breakfast from what's in season.
(upbeat string music)
Arca Tierra has been working with the Chinamperra community
for over 12 years.
Their mission is to support the farmers
and improve the ecosystem that has been threatened
by factors like land abandonment and pollution,
while at the same time preserving the history
and methods of this ancient Mesoamerican agriculture.
So how long has this been a farm?
How long have people been growing food in this spot?
- [Anais] This is one of the very first
like, indications of farming here in the whole area.
- [Joahna] So the chinampas
are actually the best example
of how humans can be a positive intervention to create life.
We're not used to hearing that,
we're the worst thing that could happen to the world.
I promise you not, you will see how positive we can be.
- [Rick] Oh, these herbs are so beautiful.
- Can I? Can I eat that? - Yeah, of course.
- The smell is amazing, right?
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Anais] And if you see this area, like from the top,
this is the sun, remember how I told you
that this is the Chinampa Del Sol?
- [Rick] Oh, okay, wow.
- [Anais] It's like the shape of the sun.
- It comes from a Chinese proverb about harvesting the sun,
because we follow all the natural processes,
and we don't add any chemicals to the earth.
- [Rick] The soil in Xochilmilco
is referred to as black gold.
The unique manmade mix of lake sediment, plants,
and roots of trees is the key to the abundance of life here.
- [Joahna] This is the beginning of everything
at the chinampa.
This is the mud with all the nutrients.
So what they will do,
and this is an artisanal process totally,
is that they're gonna cut in these little squares,
and make the little pokes on the squares
with your fingertip.
- [Anais] Like this, you just poke.
- [Rick] So they just poke-
- [Anais] In every one of them.
- [Rick] And then you put the seed in?
- [Joahna] Exactly, but the thing here is,
and the amazing part is that
that little square, it has so much organic matter,
so you have around 90% of chance
that it is going to germinate.
- Wow, oh my god.
- That's why the chinampas are so productive.
- [Rick] And how many are there?
- [Joahna] 34,000 total.
- [Rick] Oh my God.
- So imagine if all the 2000 hectare of chinampas
are now available, could do this.
- We could very easily feed the whole city.
- Yeah.
I am incredibly inspired by the work
that Arca Tierra is doing in Xochilmilco,
and how their vision has the potential to change the way
that Mexico City eats in the future.
I can't wait to cook along with Dani Moreno,
a chef who's passionate about vegetables,
and cooks on this chinampa often.
Let's see what she's got cooking.
Hola!
- Hi, hola!
- This is Dani.
- Dani, nice to meet you.
- Rick, nice to meet you, Rick.
- What are you making?
- I'm making tortillas right now,
for our breakfast.
- Okay, do you wanna go pick some plants?
- Of course, let's go.
- Let's go.
(upbeat string music)
There's no set menu for our breakfast.
We're gonna follow the lead of what's in season.
Dani had her eyes set on beautiful greens, baby beets,
herbs, and gigantic cauliflower.
Our game plan, wash the harvest and make a colorful salad
with the greens, baby beets, and flowers.
I love mandolins!
Dani whisked up a punchy orange vinegarette
to tie everything together.
This is so gorgeous!
Next, we're making huevos encamisados.
Dani loves to make these
on the farm because cooking the tortillas
on an open flame adds a smoky flavor to the dish.
Plus, you can cook the tortilla and egg at the same time.
- [Dani] We first are gonna make a tortilla.
- [Rick] Uh huh.
- [Dani] What I want is for the tortilla to puff,
so when it puffs,
I can open it and then put a egg inside.
(guitar music)
So I'm gonna remove it.
- Okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Dani] I'm gonna open it very carefully.
And do you wanna crack the egg and put it here?
There we go.
And then some salt and peppers.
(pepper grinder cracks)
Okay, and then I'm gonna grab some
of this egg white to close it like this.
And I'm gonna put it like that.
- [Rick] That's so cool.
(pan sizzles)
Ah, there it goes.
(upbeat guitar music)
- All right ready?
- This isn't that bad.
(egg cracks)
(Andrew whimpers)
(Dani laughs)
- I'm sorry, I'm a bad tortilla holder.
- [Rick] No, no, no.
S and P.
You wanna put it on the comal?
- I do.
See, this is innovation.
- Yes.
- Egg right in the tortilla.
Don't waste any time.
- [Rick] For the salsa to accompany our tortillas,
Dani cooked down onion with chilies,
then added some black beans.
Next, the cauliflower fresh from the garden,
and topped with tomato sauce.
Oh my God, I'm so hungry!
(guitar music)
(music intensifies)
- [Rick] Are you hungry?
- [Andrew] Oh yeah.
Wow. What a strikingly beautiful plate.
- Isn't it?
I love the color so much.
- So much color, yeah, and flowers.
- So pretty. - Wow!
(guitar music)
- I love the dressing.
- Thank you.
- It makes sense that this was grown in really rich soil.
Like, you can really taste each vegetable like,
they're really distinctly flavored.
- Yeah.
- I love the flavor of the salsa.
I would've never put cauliflower and beans and tomato
all together in the salsa.
- [Dani] And some jalapeno to spice it up.
- It's really delicious,
and you get that really nice pop of herbs at the end.
This is really incredible.
Thank you all so much.
It's been such an amazing morning.
So worth getting up at four o'clock-
- Yeah, right?
- This morning.
But it's been beautiful, magical, and yeah,
I'm going to eat some amazing food,
so thank you so much.
- Thank you so much for coming.
- Thank you all.
(guitar fades out)
- All right so what'd you think?
- I wouldn't have missed that for the world.
Not only just the views,
and the incredible sunrise coming out,
but then like, just seeing the dish that you made
come together from things that were growing right there.
- Yeah, and this?
- Movie magic!
- Wow.
(ethereal music)
- And we're back. - And we're back.
(Andrew laughs)
I think it's nap time and then, mescal?
- Yeah, no that sounds good. - Okay.
I'll see you in a few.
- Goodnight.
- Is my, oh, my ass is wet, isn't it?
That's great.
(Rick laughs)
That's great.
(happy music)
- One of my absolute favorite ways to cook
is straight from the farm,
and that's why Xochilmilco was so incredible for me.
It is also one of the most difficult types of meals
to recreate somewhere else,
because I don't have access to that Chinampa,
I don't have access to all of that produce.
So what I decided to do is create things that were inspiring
to me at the Mercado.
I used as the base of the menu,
the preparation of the eggs inside the tortilla,
or huevos encamisados, or heuvos escondidos,
and the salsa is going to be a slight riff
of what we had along with all the other accoutrement.
First, we're gonna break down the cauliflower
for a salsa inspired by Dani's on the Chinampa.
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper,
and off it goes to a 450 degree oven
for about 25 to 35 minutes.
Now we're making the salsa.
For the salsa,
you'll need to chop a quarter of a large white onion,
four large jalapenos, two cloves of garlic.
Put the chopped veg into a skillet on medium high
with three tablespoons of olive oil
and cook until just beginning to brown.
Now, add one pound of chopped ripe tomatoes
and a sweet tart tomatillo.
Cook until very tender.
There was some beautiful green beans at the Mercado today,
so I'm gonna add those to my riff on the salsa,
along with half a cup of water.
All the vegetables are in the skillet cooking away
for the salsa,
so now we're gonna work on the salad.
So this salad is gonna be very, very different
than the salad we had at Xochilmilco,
mainly because I just don't have access to baby beets,
and a lot of those flowers, I just don't have here.
What I do have right now are really beautiful dried beans.
So I wanted to celebrate that.
I found some really beautiful purslane,
some really amazing coconut.
So we're gonna have like a coconut, bean, purslane salad
with a little bit of serrano,
lime, olive oil, salt, and garlic.
It's gonna be really amazing.
(upbeat music)
For a riff on Dani's vinaigrette,
whisk together olive oil, fresh lime juice, lime zest,
finely grated garlic, and a chili serrano. .
Add one and a half teaspoons
of salt and whisk until combined.
This cauliflower is perfectly browned.
I'm gonna let it rest until it's time to eat.
All right, the very last thing that we need to do
and the thing that needs to be made to order
are the huevos encamisados.
So the first thing we're gonna do is prep the masa.
So you can see this masa is a little bit dry,
and what you need in order to inflate the tortilla,
is you need moisture on the inside.
So basically what's happening is,
you're cooking the tortilla on two sides.
You're sealing the outside,
and the moisture inside is vaporizing into steam,
and that's what puffs up the tortilla.
If you haven't worked with masa that much,
it's hard to know when the masa has enough moisture or not.
So what I usually say is you make a ball,
and then you smash it.
If you see these little crackly edges like that,
that means that your masa needs more water.
So I just have some water here
and I'm gonna go a little bit of it at a time,
maybe a couple of tablespoons,
and it's just something you really have to practice,
there's no set way to do this.
And also, if your tortillas don't inflate,
don't worry about it.
Just fry your eggs or poach your eggs,
and you can set them on top and no one will know.
Yes, this feels very, very nice and hydrated.
When you are pressing your tortillas,
you should have two differing thicknesses of plastic.
I'm not exactly sure the mechanics of why.
If you use two pieces
of plastic that are exactly the same, it makes it harder.
But I don't ask questions.
I am just going to do what works.
And so for me,
I like to put the thinner plastic on the bottom.
It's easier to take the thicker plastic off first.
So I flattened it ever so slightly,
you want about 50 grams of dough,
which is slightly smaller than a ping pong ball.
I just want to get it flattened,
and then you can see this side is a little thinner,
so I'm just gonna flip it 180,
and then press it again, just a light tap.
And that will even it out.
Pull the top plastic off.
Easy peasy.
Now, hot comal, I am using my big beautiful comal de barro.
What you want to do is cook the tortilla
on two sides for about 15 and 30 seconds per side.
You'll see tiny little brown marks,
that's your cue that it's done.
Flip it, cook it another 15 to 30 seconds
until it looks like it's dry.
Then flip it again.
That's gonna evaporate the water,
and the steam is what's gonna give you the puff,
but you have to have the two sides completely sealed
in order for that to happen.
So this is the part where
if you have a friend or a little kid,
tell 'em to come on over and give you a hand.
Otherwise, I will give you a couple
of tips to do this by yourself
as I have had practice for the last couple of days.
So what you need to do is,
or what to me was easiest is,
just go ahead and crack your eggs into little bowls,
and that way you can hold the tortilla
with one hand and then pour the egg in with the other.
And we're going to salt,
and let's pepper 'em too, directly into the bowl.
And then I'm going to take my puffed tortillas.
You wanna take your very sharp knife,
you wanna insert it right here where it's like,
sort of thin and puffy.
And then just make a small,
maybe like a three inch
little slash, just use your hand
to kind of open the hole,
and then take the bowl and pour in the egg.
And then take your finger,
and then just kind of rub the egg white over the gap,
press it down, and then just put it on the hot comal.
(easy electronic music)
Everything is ready, so it is time to plate,
and more importantly, it's time to eat.
All right.
So the first thing I'm gonna plate is the bean salad.
Letting the beans ever so slightly dry out on the surface.
The dried surface will then absorb
all of this deliciousness,
and will make them shine and shimmer like little jewels.
I'm gonna take my beautiful purslane.
We've got some beautiful fresh coconut,
which I'm just going to shave over the top.
Take a little cojita, and just crumble it over the top.
Some scallion.
And then you got like, this dressing with a little bit
of the bean juice in it,
and then just pour this over the top.
And that is a beautiful bean salad.
(upbeat music)
Mmm, mmm.
Really bright, really tropical, that hit of coconut.
The saltiness of the cojita,
that really gentle warming of the serrano.
It just screams summertime, tropical vibes.
All right, going in for this guy.
That is a ridiculous bite, but,
things I do for my job.
Mmm.
It's definitely screaming brunch vibes,
kind of, sort of like eggs benedict,
only super, super, super, super delicious.
This looks nothing like what I ate at Xochimilco,
and that's totally fine,
because I got to forage around Mazatlan
looking for things that were fresh,
that inspired me, that spoke to me at that moment,
and I made this amazing meal.
And that's what you should do.
Go to your farmer's market.
Go to your local grocery store,
talk to your farmers, talk to the growers.
Find out what's in season, and make that.
Use the recipe as a guide, but sub in
the things that you love, the things that look great,
and you are going to absolutely love this dish.
(easy electronic music)