Sierra is an ode to the beauty of Mexican cuisine from the Sierra Norte de Puebla. It is a cookbook meant to be used time and time again, and to be passed down to future generations. Whether you are a newbie in the kitchen or are simply looking to implement more recipes into your personal menu, Sierra has over 35 recipes just for you.
Lucia Ortega, founder of Sierra Guisados and Sierra Mexican Cuisine and 2023 participant of La Feria de los Moles, shares the recipes that have been passed down for generations in her maternal family line. Throughout her childhood, Lucia sold food alongside her mother in the streets of Los Angeles. Despite these experiences, Lucia still viewed the kitchen as an intimidating place. At the age of 25, Lucia fully delved into the world of her family’s recipes and cultural traditions that stem from the Sierra Norte de Puebla. What started off as a journey to document family recipes turned into an entrepreneurial venture that now consists of a successful guisado stand and a Mexican cafe in the city of South Gate.
In this collection of recipes, Lucia Ortega open-heartedly shares the culinary customs and legacy of the Sierra Norte de Puebla that has sustained her family for generations. In this book you will find the mole de adobo and salsa verde de puerco guisado recipes that are a menu staple at Sierra Guisados. The mole poblano that was featured and sold in La Feria de los Moles 2023. The champurrado and cafe de olla that Lucia’s mother prepared for her family that is now being sold at Sierra Mexican Cuisine. Each recipe will be shared with an anecdote that highlights Lucia’s reality of being a first-generation Latina that is reconnecting with her roots and preserving the culinary and cultural legacy of her family while living in the United States.