For an up-and-coming chef who made People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful” list, Aaron Sanchez, 29, is surprisingly scholarly.
Sanchez holds his own posing nude in an ad for blenders as easily as lecturing at the 2005 Aspen Food & Wine Classic on the history of Latin cuisine.
In a crisp white chef’s jacket, cobalt- blue suede Pumas and a Mexican flag bandanna tied around his head, the co-host of Food Network’s “Melting Pot” entertained his Aspen audience with a mix of cooking tips and ingredient history, seasoned with a few one-liners.
“This bus goes fast, and I want to make sure everyone’s on it,” he warned, launching into detailed directions on making masa for tamales. “Tamales make me think ‘family.’ You don’t just make 12 tamales, you make 60.”
Sanchez, involved in Centrico and Paladar in New York City and Mixx in Atlantic City, N.J., represents the third generation in a family food affair that began on a cattle ranch in northern Mexico. It extended from his mother’s catering business in El Paso, Texas, to New York City, where Sanchez’s mother, Zarela Martinez, found fame as a chef at Café Marimba and opened the ever-popular Zarela in 1987.
But now her son, author of “La Comida del Barrio,” is ready to step onto the stage Martinez (and other Mexican-American chefs) built.
He stepped into the high-altitude spotlight at the annual food extravaganza in Aspen, where he had played a supporting role to his mom in years past.
“Let’s start with corn, the end-all ingredient in Mexican cooking,” he said, plunging his hands into a bowl of corn flour and lard.
“Lard has gotten a bad rap lately. Do not use that stuff that’s processed,” he said, holding up a large fatback. “Fresh lard has this really intoxicating flavor.
“Masa – it’s important to get your hands in it. Use one cup lard for every four cups masa flour. It will take on a sheen and be easy to spread,” he said.
Adding seasoning to masa for tamales is not traditional, says Sanchez, but this next-generation chef doesn’t follow all the rules.
He puts huitlacoche, a fungus that grows on corn, into the dough. “They call it ‘the Mexican truffle’ and it gives a deep, earthy, truffly flavor,” he told the audience.
This muchacho is much more than a pretty boy.
Sanchez launched into a culinary travelogue through Latin America. “You have to think of Latin food as a couple of culinary superpowers: the Caribbean-African influence and the Central American corn, rice and beans. And from South America comes fresh seafood; Peru, the birthplace of potatoes; and in Chile and Argentina, you see the European influence.”
He adds Mexican oregano to salsa, saying the flavor reminds him of home, where the cattle on the family ranch grazed on oregano, which imparted a subtle flavor to the meat.
“Pico de gallo means ‘rooster’s beak’ because it pecks you with its heat. It’s a perfect way to use up over-ripe tomatoes.”
“My family, we are three generations of cookbook writers,” said Sanchez. The first author was Sanchez’s grandmother, Aida Gabilondo, who wrote the beloved 400-page “Mexican Family Cooking” in 1986.
His mom’s books include “Zarela’s Veracruz,” “Food From My Heart” and “The Food and Life of Oaxaca.”
Now, his mother has a line of housewares at Wal-Mart and son sells kitchenware at Mervyn’s and is working on a clothing line.
His older sister and manager, Marissa Sanchez, worked with mamá at Zarela for 12 years before joining her brother’s growing empire.
“We are very close, but are able to succeed at working together because we all have different roles so we don’t get in each other’s way or step on each other’s toes. I think it also helps that we all really enjoy each other’s company, as corny as it sounds,” says big sis.
“When People called, I thought, ‘No one is going to be able to stand him,”‘ she says. But when asked to define his cooking style, Sanchez is disarmingly honest.
“My style? I’m not sure I’ve developed it 100 percent yet. It’s gonna come back to roots, though. I love the history and culture. Any guy can just cook.”
How hot is that?
Sorry, chicas, but Sanchez recently proposed to Glenda Carpio, the beautiful Guatemalan-born assistant professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard. When she’s not lecturing in Cambridge, Mass., Carpio loves to shop the farmers markets with Sanchez. Maybe she loves squeezing the tomatoes, or maybe she just wants to squeeze her handsome fiancé.
Food editor Kristen Browning-Blas can be reached at 303-820-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com.
Many traditional Mexican ingredients are now sold in mainstream grocery stores in Colorado. If you can’t find them at your store, look in Mexican markets or on gourmetsleuth.com or mexgrocer.com.
Masa harina
Dehydrated, powdered masa, often referred to as instant corn masa. Maseca is a popular brand and can be found in most grocery stores. The flour is made from cooked ground hominy and looks like white cornmeal.
Cotija cheese
Aged strong-tasting and somewhat hard, dry cheese made from cow’s milk. Named for the town of Cotija, Michoacan, where it originated. Called the “Parmesan of Mexico,” it is ideal for grating and available in most grocery stores and Latin markets.
Huitlacoche
Corn smut, a type of fungus that invades the growing ears of corn, causing the kernels to swell into gray or blue-black masses. Known as the “truffle of Mexico,” it is considered a delicacy and has the same uses as mushrooms with a much more complex flavor. Available fresh (look for it at farmers markets) or canned from Herdez.
Mexican oregano
A dried herb with a strong, aromatic flavor; also referred to as wild marjoram. It was a staple in my childhood home, El Paso. (When Aaron Sanchez’s mother, chef Zarela Martinez, was growing up on a northern Mexican ranch, the cattle used to graze on fresh wild-growing oregano, so as a result, the meat itself had a subtle oregano flavor.)
Chile de árbol
Gets its name from the Spanish word for “tree” (árbol) because these chiles grow hanging from trees or small bushes. This small, frequently used chile is closely related to the pico de pajaro (beak of the bird) and cayenne chiles. It measures about 2 to 3 inches long, is scarlet red, and adds a smoky, grassy flavor backed with an acidic heat. Chile de árbol is often used to flavor oils and vinegars.
Queso blanco
Is very similar to mozzarella – a great melting cheese widely available in Latin groceries. When you simply see the word queso, like on a torta, chances are it’s referring to blanco.
-From “Comida del Barrio,” by Aaron Sanchez
Chefs strut their stuff
See Aaron Sanchez and local chefs free at the Cherry Creek North Gourmet Series on Saturday in Fillmore Plaza, East First Avenue and Fillmore Street.
Saturday, July 23 10:30-11:00 a.m. Dan Marshall & Vaughn Hobbs, Viking culinary professionals 11:30-12:30 p.m. Jeffrey Blackwell, 9545 Restaurant in Telluride 1-2 p.m. Markus Georg, Chinook Tavern 2-3:45 p.m. Aaron Sanchez, Centrico, Paladar, Mixx
The series continues July 30 with featured chef Martin Yan and Aug. 6 with Rick Bayless. On Aug. 6, the series culminates with a tasting tent featuring 200 wines and local restaurants’ food. Admission to the “grand tasting” is $65. More information, ccngourmet.com or 877-359-5606.
