Nicuatole stole my heart when I first tried it at a Mexico City restaurant a few months ago.
The waiter had described it as a corn-based dessert, and it arrived as two off-white, triangular wedges sitting in a puddle of vanilla sauce. As soon as I tasted, my mind turned to ooze. The nicuatole (pronounced “nee-kwah-TOLE-ay”) was milky. Earthy. Grainy. Sweet. The corn had this sharp, almost granite-like flavor that reminded me of a homemade corn tortilla. And god, for two wedges, this stuff had maximum comfort power. It was the equivalent of eating cubes of bread soaked in warm milk. Or Cream of Wheat on a cold day.
Came home that day and googled furiously, trying to learn more about it. (Or, in a perfect world, find a recipe.) I had no luck for about a month, until my friend Jesica casually mentioned that she may have seen a recipe in a cooking magazine she’d bought at the grocery store. Trying not to squawk, “WHAA?” I asked her kindly if I could borrow the magazine. She said yes.
It turns out Ricardo Muñoz Zurita himself had written the recipe. He’s the chef at Azul y Oro, where I first tried the nicuatole. I ended up following his instructions exactly — to mix milk, sugar and corn flour until it’s “uniform and thick” — but I failed at my first attempt. I didn’t cook it long enough; it came out soupy.
Ever determined to conquer, and finally having the time now that I’ve returned from my five million trips, I tried again yesterday, using some leftover half-and-half I’d picked up at an organic grocery store. I told Crayton to watch the clock while I mixed my milk and sugar and Maseca flour and stirred, and stirred, and stirred.
“How many minutes has it been?” That was me, standing at the stove with my wooden spoon.
“Nine.”
Then, later: “How many minutes has it been?”
“Fourteen.”
I cooked the thing for 21 minutes, until it had the texture of a thick pancake batter. It cooled to room temperature, and the result was a dense, sweet pudding that was plain, but pretty bewitching in its simplicity. A tart fruit sauce — strawberries or raspberries — might jazz things up even more, which I may try to do next time. Also, even though I used half-and-half, I think it added a little too much density. I’d use whole milk next time.
The recipe’s below, if you want to try it yourself. It’s the simplest, most comforting treat you can whip up for a sweet treat at home.
Nicuatole
Adapted from Ricardo Muñoz Zurita’s recipe in Sabor a Mexico
Serves 4 1/2 cup servings
Ingredients
500ml whole milk (about two cups)
50g Maseca corn flour (this is widely available in Latino supermarkets, if you don’t live in Mexico)
75g organic sugar
In a saucepan over low heat, whisk together milk, corn flour and sugar. Continue stirring almost constantly for the next 20 minutes, using a wooden spoon if you’ve got one. [Note: This time reflects our high altitude; if you’re in a normal altitude, I’d guess it might take about 10 minutes.] Occasionally scrape the bottom of the pan or remove it from the heat to ensure that the mixture doesn’t stick or burn. It will slowly thicken from a soup-like consistency to a thick, cream-of-wheat-like consistency; and then, finally, to a mixture resembling thick pancake batter. Scoop some onto your spoon and let it fall back into the pan — if it plops into the pan in thick dollops, it’s done.
Remove from heat to molds, or small ramekins. Let cool to room temperature and serve.
Success!! I am def. going to try it out but organic sugar?? Must I really trek out in search of it?
I guess not. My thought was, when you’re making something extra special — or at least, it was extra special to me — why not use a special ingredient… plus using bleached sugar in something so warm and comforting just seemed wrong. Lots of Superamas have organic sugar these days. If you use regular, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Dude, you should do a zapote negro sauce!
You mean to tell me this stuff actually has a name? My grandpa loved Malt-o-meal and Cream-of-wheat, but he preferred to make his own with Maseca. His was much thinner. I’m making some tomorrow for breakfast!
Leslie: It seems basically the same, but this version has a lot more sugar! And it’s served room-temp or cold. Love the malt-o-meal idea with Maseca… must try that soon.
50g Maseca corn flour – how many cups is this?
75g sugar – again, how many cups is this?
The recipe sounds good and EASY – and since we have Maseca available in Washington state, and the cold days of fall are upon us, it may be something I will try.
Yes, sorry I didn’t put American measurements… just figured folks could Google a conversion! (Which is what I do when I’m making recipes that call for “one stick of butter,” which doesn’t exist in the same quantities here. Turns out one stick of butter is about 113 grams. Who knew.) I’ll remeasure with cups and get back to you.
If you are willing to use Maseca, you shouldn’t have to worry about getting organic sugar.
Did Chef Ricardo Muñoz actually use Maseca??
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
No, the recipe just said “harina de maiz.” It was kind of confusing, because harina de maiz can also mean cornstarch. But I took from the quantity that he meant real flour. Maseca was the easiest thing that I could find, but I think tortilla molinos would probably sell it, if you asked.
Yum that sounds good !!
My mom makes me, or well now I make myself, this stuff called “Maizena” its in a yellow envelope with a drawing of a farmer and it also comes in flavors like vainilla choco and fresa! It’s so good! Reminds me of this recipe and also childhood!
I agree with Don Cuevas. Maseca if you look it up is from mexican corn growers and is the worst of the worst for gmo frankenstein corn and way too much pesticides. Kind of defeating the purpose with organic sugar which matters much less than buying organic corn or soy. Non organic sugar does not kill rats.
Just one thing, you need to make sure the dough is very well cook, otherwise you will be suffering uncomfortable stomack pain. The stirring is more than 20 min, at least it should be 30 min dependind on the amount cooked. Just an advice
Thanks, but can you explain that a little more? It’s just corn and milk and sugar. How will undercooking it make me sick? At 20 minutes of cooking, none of us who ate this got sick. Plus recipe didn’t specify a time — if it was really going to make people sick, wouldn’t they have put a note specifying how long to stir?
Corn starch is known as Maizena.
Interesting blog.
Did you learn how to speak Spanish, now that you are living in Mexico?
Hola Gloria: Sí, hablo español. Soy más o menos bilingue, aunque no hablo como nativa. (Todavía no.) Pero sí es muy importante para mi hablar español y aprenderlo mientras estoy en México. Escribo en inglés porque es más cómoda para mi. Saludos!
I think corn meal is different than Maseca, and might have to be cooked longer.
Another subject, but I bought Maseca de maiz azul when I was in Ciudad Mexico 2 years ago, but I’m not able to find it outside of central Mexico. Is there an online source?
Hi Atilio: I haven’t seen blue corn Maseca anywhere — I wasn’t even aware they made it. I did a quick internet search and apparently “harinilla” is the same thing. It’s nixtamalized blue corn flour from New Mexico. The good news is that you could probably find it in New Mexico… but none of the traditional Mexican grocers are selling it online. If I see it anywhere in the future, I’ll let you know.