The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

Adventures in Mexican produce: Quelite cenizo

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I’ve mentioned it several times, but I’m a big fan of quelites. The word is an umbrella term for any wild, native Mexican green, usually one that has small leaves (smaller than spinach or chard).

Mexico City supermarkets don’t sell them. I usually find them on the outer edges of the tianguis, where the vendors often come directly from farms. They set up directly on the sidewalk and sell gorgeous, non-uniform produce: round, plump squash with raised ridges; prettier than usual squash blossoms, tortillas, tlacoyos, and bags of these quelites.

In the past I’ve bought quintoniles, which have a purplish tinge. But last week I saw another type of quelite I’d never bought before — quelite cenizo. The name translates to “ash quelite,” because some of the leaves look like they’ve been dipped in ash. My batch was pretty much all green.

I’ve never paid more than 15 pesos (just over a dollar) for a kilo of quelites. They don’t cook down as much as spinach does, and they’re highly nutritious, so there’s really no excuse not to buy them.

What do you do with quelite cenizo?

As is the case with most quelites, you can stew them. In Mexico, this is known as “guisar.” The traditional preparation calls for washing the quelites very well beforehand — they tend to collect a lot of dirt — and them simmering them gently in a pot of water until tender.

From there, you can chop them up (or not, if you’re lazy like me) and sautee them in chopped onion and garlic. You could add a chile sauce, like tomatillo with serrano. But I like them plain. After cooking, you serve them with beans and tortillas.

Last night I used my quelite cenizo as an enchilada filling. Post on that to come. I’ve also mixed them with vegetables and served them over quinoa.

What does quelite cenizo taste like?

They’re mild and slightly sweet, similar to quintoniles and other quelites I’ve tried. The great thing about them is they don’t turn slimy once you’ve simmered them in water. All quelites I’ve tried, including one called nabo, hold their texture.

If you eat quelites, let me know below — what’s your favorite way to prepare them?

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Comments

  1. I am lucky the Jackson Heights farmer’s market on NYC sells quelites in the summer (never asked which kind). I like to stuff green Italian peppers with feta and quelites a la mexicana con carne: onions, garlic, tomatoes, serranos and ground beef. I bake the peppers in salsa roja and serve with rice or burgul wheat.

  2. We too are fascinated by the variety of quelites.

    Having lived in Louisiana for a while, we ate collards, mustard and turnip greens, which never seem to be available in most of Mexico. When you can find nabos, you wonder what became of the greens.

    Would be interesting to know how quelites nabo came to be so called.

  4. Awesome! These definitely look like some version of what we call lambsquarters or goosefoot (see the shapes of the leaves). It’s a really common weed, at least in the US, and here in Cambridge/Boston it grows everywhere, especially in the tree-wells that line city sidewalks. Loving disturbed ground, it also pops up in gardens, and our local farm grows some of the best around (inadvertently). The “ash” you mention — a dusty covering under the leaves — are a hallmark characteristic.

    Like the amaranth (quintoniles) you posted earlier, these are basically best as a “potherb”: steamed or briefly boiled/blanched and then (or just) sauteed with some oil, garlic, and pepper. Or used as a Spinach substitute. (Unlike amaranth, however, I find that goosefoot, at least when young and tender, is even edible raw; so I find myself grazing on it as I walk through the city — making sure, of course, to pick above the dog-pee line.)

    We’ve been blanching and freezing a bunch this summer so we’ll have some this winter. No great recipes yet, but we’ll definitely have to try some Mexican style preparations. Do let us know if you come up with any other good uses!

  7. Mi abuelita cocinaba el quelite con huevos revueltos. Siempre encontrabamos el quelite a la orilla de la villas del tren. Hoy vivo en Texas y no he mirado quelite en las tiendas. Cuál será el nombre en inglés?? Alguien sabe?

  8. This is very similar to what we called pig weed growing up in Maine. We are in NM now and it is all over our garden. We eat it almost daily steamed or sauteed. We found another variety, with the purple tops and much larger leaves (3″ across) at the farmer’s market and now have some growing in our garden as well. Similar taste, both delicious.

  9. mmmm….I love quelites,I usually go to the farmers market to buy my bunch n I make it them w spinazo!

  10. Wow, i’m impress on how many people like quelites, my parents grow alot in their garden, were located in San Diego, CA and they grow every year, my mom cooks them variable ways, from just steam to adding a bit of oil with onion and slices of jalapeno till everything gets a soft texture.

    I was wondering bcs I been eating healthier, and was astonish and how nutritional quelites are:)

    • Hi Olga: Yep, they’re very nutritious. I’m already missing the start of the rainy season in Mexico City, when the quelites come out in full force. Thanks for your comment!

  11. I have them growing as weeds in my yard, too. I’ve usually eaten them raw, but will try cooking them, now that I have so many excellent ideas. Thanks for the info!

  13. I was given some quilites by a man who runs a taco truck in town. He is from Mexico, and I had given him some canned huichlacote (corn fungus, Mexican caviar), because I knew he probably missed it and you can’t get it here.

    I picked the leaves off the long stems and washed them in several waters. (There was an amazing amount of dirt.) Some, I put in the freezer for later, and some I chopped to paste in the blender with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. I boiled some spaghetti and tossed it with the paste. It was super delicious! Super easy! You should try it.