I just came back from a visit to my family in my hometown of Monterrey after 3 1/2 years of pandemic-related absence. It was so good to go home, be with family and friends, visit old and new places and eat some really good food. This time around I wanted to rest and just spend quality time with my family, so I did not go out a lot, but the times we did go out were outstanding.
One of those times was a visit to El Pariente, in Allende, Nuevo León. Allende is a town that’s about 60km from Monterrey and as hard as it is to believe, I had never been. For a small town, it has a lot of great things! The town centre has a beautiful church, city hall (housing a very informative museum) and plaza; they have a winery, the impressive Rio Ramos and some very, very good food. Allende is in the citrus region, and as such, it is a major producer of oranges, it is also major producer of honey. Food in Allende is humble, traditional and delicious!
We had two amazing food experiences in Allende - the first one was eating at Las Comadres de Allende, a small and unassuming restaurant set on the edge of the Rio Ramos. This place only serves one dish, and I could almost say that has been one of the best meals of my life (but that is the subject for another post). The other was a visit to El Pariente, a huge restaurant on the highway that has been in operation since 1990. If you go on a Sunday for lunch, there is live regional music which makes for a very lively experience. Don’t expect white linens and fine cutlery here, but the food is amazing! The orange juice comes in half litres or litres, and being from Allende, it is freshly squeezed. The menu is extensive, but the meals made with Carne Seca are the specialty of the place, the town and the whole area. We had a meal called Atropellado, which is a simple preparation of carne seca (dried beef) with onions, chiles and tomatoes. It comes on a plate with refried beans and plentiful flour tortillas on the side. It is simply heavenly.
I have talked about Carne Seca before (check out my earlier post), so you know it is the iconic ingredient of Northeastern Mexico, and for good reason! It is not easy to acquire in Canada, so I figured out how to make it, and if you’re interested, it can be easily done in a dehydrator. You absolutely need dried beef for this recipe, so this may fall under a “want to do one day” for you, but nevertheless, read on because it’s so easy and delicious you may just want to try!
The most beloved breakfast in Monterrey has to be Machacado con Huevo, which is made exactly the same way as this recipe, except it has eggs. This Atropellado I would say is better for lunch, since it has no eggs. Either way, it is delicious, quick and filling. And if you want, you can add a fried egg on top as I did. Serve it with flour tortillas for the authentic experience, and don’t forget a good salsa!
Atropellado Norteño
Northern Style Fried Dried Beef
1 Tbsp vegetable oil or manteca
1/2 cup diced Spanish onion
1 Serrano chile, minced (or 1/2 Jalapeño chile)
1 cup shredded dried beef
1 large Roma tomato, diced
Flour tortillas
Salsa of your choice
Refried beans as a side
In medium frying pan, heat oil and add onion and chile. Cook until translucent and starting to get a bit of colour.
Add beef and cook until it starts to toast a bit, then add tomatoes and let cook until broken down, 3-5 minutes.
Beef should not be too wet, so if the tomato is very juicy, just let it cook a bit longer.
Serve with refried beans, flour tortillas and salsa.
Serves 2.