ESCAMOLES

The “Escamoles” (from the Nahuatl “azcatl”, ant, and “molli”, stew) are larvae of the Güijera ant Liometopum apiculatum, highly appreciated in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times, when in season they were part of the daily diet of the inhabitants of Mesoamerica. Considered a delicacy, today they are exotic food in states such as Guanajuato (especially in San Luis de la Paz), Hidalgo, Puebla de Zaragoza and Tlaxcala. They are also called “azcamolli”, “huigues”, “chiquereyes” or “maicitos”.

Ant larvae are eaten fried with butter and epazote, in “mixiote”, mole, barbecue, with egg, among many other stews. This species of ant builds its nests underground, mainly at the base of the maguey, in the nopaleras or next to the pirul trees. The escamole is harvested every year between the months of March and April. The ants are extremely aggressive, which, together with the difficulty of reproducing them all year round, makes their exploitation difficult and makes escamoles an excessively expensive dish.

Harvest

The escamole is harvested every year, in the Lenten season. The ants build their nests underground, several meters deep, mainly at the base of the maguey, in the nopaleras or next to the pirul trees, and, to find them, the collectors follow the path of the ants. These ants are extremely aggressive and only reproduce at that time of year. These factors make its exploitation difficult and turn escamoles into a very precious dish, and extremely expensive, as much or more than the famous "caviar". Thanks to this they are considered "The Mexican Caviar". Once the white eggs are extracted, they are poured into jars of clean water and subjected to consecutive baths to avoid any trace of sand or dirt. In this process, great care must be taken to avoid that the outer layer that protects the larvae does not break.

They can be prepared in multiple ways: fried with butter and epazote, with egg, with sauces, in mixiote, with barbecue, in gorditas, in tortillas, among others.

Escamoles contain between 40 and 60% protein, in addition to fats, vitamins and minerals. This is a much higher percentage than protein from beef (17-21.5%) and chicken (20.2%).

MARROW, ESCAMOLES, CHILEATOLE

(10 servings)

Ingredients:

  • 10 pz of Bone Marrow
  • 7 pz of poblano pepper
  • 1 pz of onion (350 g)
  • 100 g coriander (blanched)
  • 100 g epazote (bleached)
  • 150 g of cooked white corn,
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 50 g onion in brunoise
  • 2 garlic cloves finely (chopped)
  • 10 g of epazote finely (chopped)
  • 100 g escamoles
  • 15 g butter
  • 20 slices of Chile serrano
  • 20 Slices of scallions (only the green part)
  • 30 pcs of Coriander Flower
  • 30 g of Epazote Sprout
  • 15 g of Wild Cilantro
  • 10 pz of Bone marrow
  • 10 pz of Corn Tortillas

Process:

For the marrow

1

    10 pz of Bone Marrow

    Place the bone marrow on a tray, add salt, pepper, and bake at 180 ° C for 12 minutes. Once roasted, remove the meat from the bone and reserve

    In a pot with boiling water, place the bones, until removing impurities. Wash them again with hot water, place them on a tray and bake until they are completely dry. Keep a side for presentation

For the chileatole

2

    7 pz of poblano pepper burned, cooked and clean (without veins, peel, or seeds)

    1 pz of onion (350 g)

    100 g coriander (blanched)

    100 g epazote (bleached)

    150 g of cooked white corn, blended in its own cooking broth and strained

    4 cloves of garlic

    Sautée the onion, garlic, and chilies in a pot
    Once cooked, grind in a blender or thermomix until obtaining a smooth sauce without lumps. Strain and return to the pot, add the previously strained corn “atole” and cook for 20 min
    Grind the leaves in a blender with some cooking broth until obtaining a super fine texture. Add them to the previous mixture and cook for 5 more minutes. Rectify salt and reserve

For the escamoles

3

    50 g onion in brunoise

    2 garlic cloves finely chopped

    10 g of epazote finely chopped

    100 g escamoles

    15 g butter

    In a frying pan place the butter until melted and add the onion, fry until crisp (when the onion turns transparent) and add the garlic, then add the escamoles and cook slowly over low heat until the eggs turn white and firm, add the epazote and rectify with salt.

For presentation

4

    20 slices of Chile serrano

    20 slices of scallions (only the green part)

    30 pcs of Coriander Flower

    30 g of Epazote Sprout

    15 g of Wild Cilantro

    10 pz of Bone marrow

    10 pz of Corn Tortillas

    Place in the central part of the bone, a little of the previously heated marrow, add a little chileatole and on top the escamoles, decorate with epazote shoots, wild coriander, coriander flower, scallions, and serrano pepper slices.

    Serve the rest of chileatole in a jar, accompanied by tortillas in the center of the table.