Guerrero cooking: pozole, chilate and Pacific flavours

When people talk about Mexican regional cooking, Oaxaca, Puebla and Yucatán take all the limelight. But there is one state that Mexicans themselves recognise as the birthplace of one of the country's most emblematic dishes and yet rarely appears in international food guides: Guerrero. This state on the Mexican Pacific, home to Acapulco, Taxco and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, has a culinary tradition that combines pre-Hispanic, African, Asian and coastal influences in a cuisine as diverse as its geography.

Guerrero is a state of extreme contrasts: tropical coast, rugged sierra and fertile valleys. Each area has developed its own gastronomic identity, but all share a common denominator: the bold use of chile, the constant presence of corn and a deep connection to the products of sea and land.

Guerrero green pozole: the original

Yes, pozole is from Guerrero. Although it is eaten all over Mexico, its origin is in this state, where it is made in its oldest and most authentic version: green pozole. While red pozole (from Jalisco) and white (from Sinaloa) are better known internationally, Guerrero green pozole is the one that food historians consider closest to the original pre-Hispanic recipe.

What makes it special: The green colour comes from a mixture of pumpkin seeds (toasted and ground), green chile, green tomato (tomatillo), lettuce, cilantro and epazote. This green salsa is added to the pork-and-cacahuazintle-corn broth, creating a pozole with a deep flavour, slightly bitter from the seeds and fresh from the herbs.

Traditional preparation: The cacahuazintle corn is nixtamalised and cooked for hours until it "flowers" (the grains open like flowers). The pork - head, backbone, leg - is cooked in the same broth. The green salsa is made separately by toasting and grinding seeds with green chiles, roasted tomatillos and herbs, and is added to the broth in the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Serving: It is served in deep bowls with pressed chicharrón, avocado, onion, dried oregano, lime, tostadas and radishes. On the pozole Thursdays in Chilpancingo - the state capital - whole families gather around enormous clay pots.

Chilate: the ancestral drink nobody knows

If pozole is the most famous dish in Guerrero, chilate is its best-kept secret. This pre-Hispanic drink, still made in the Guerrero Costa Chica exactly as it was centuries ago, is a mixture of cocoa, toasted corn, piloncillo and chile - yes, chile in a drink - diluted in water and served cold.

Chilate is not hot chocolate. It is a refreshing, slightly spicy drink, with the depth of raw cocoa and the sweetness of piloncillo. It is drunk in jícaras (bowls made of dried gourd) and is an integral part of the festivals, funerals and celebrations of the region. It is perhaps the oldest chocolate drink still made in the Americas.

How to make it in Spain: You need pure cocoa powder (unsweetened, the good kind), popcorn corn toasted in a dry pan and ground, grated piloncillo or panela, and a touch of chile-de-árbol powder. Mix everything with cold water, whisk vigorously and serve with ice. The result is surprising: refreshing, complex and addictive.

Jumiles: the sacred insect of Taxco

Guerrero is perhaps the only place in the world where eating bugs (hemipteran insects) is a revered tradition. Jumiles are mountain insects gathered on the Cerro del Huixteco, near Taxco, during the months of November to February. They are eaten alive, toasted on a comal or ground in a salsa, and have a flavour described as a mix of cinnamon, mint and almond.

Every November the Jumil Fair is held in Taxco, where thousands of people climb the hill to gather these insects. It is a tradition linked to Day of the Dead: it is believed that the jumiles are the reincarnation of the deceased returning to visit their families.

Obviously, getting jumiles in Spain is impossible. But the Guerrero tradition of eating insects connects with the global trend towards insects as a sustainable protein source. If it interests you, toasted chapulines (grasshoppers) - the edible cousins of the jumiles - can be found in some specialist shops.

Pescado a la talla: the great coastal dish

On the Guerrero coast, from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo, the star dish is pescado a la talla. It is made with a whole snapper or red snapper butterflied open, marinated in a mixture of chiles (ancho, guajillo, de árbol), garlic, spices and vinegar, and grilled directly over the embers on a mangrove-wood grill.

The secret: The fish is marinated on both sides with two different salsas: a red one (of dried chiles, more intense) and a green one (of mayonnaise, green chile and herbs, milder). It is placed on the grill skin-side down and cooked slowly, letting the smoke from the wood perfume the flesh. The result is a fish with crunchy skin, juicy flesh and a complex flavour combining smoky, spicy, tart and salty.

Adaptation for Spain: Use a whole sea bream or sea bass butterflied open. Marinate with ancho-chili powder, garlic, cumin, vinegar and oil. Grill on the barbecue or under the oven grill, 15-20 minutes per side. It will not be identical - the mangrove is missing - but the concept works perfectly with Mediterranean fish.

Guerrero red mole: different from the poblano

Guerrero has its own version of red mole, different from the famous mole poblano. Guerrero mole is simpler, with fewer ingredients, spicier and with a more direct chile flavour. While mole poblano seeks complexity with chocolate, nuts and spices, the Guerrero one gets to the point: chiles, tomato, garlic, and little else.

It is used mainly at weddings and patron-saint festivals, where it is made in enormous clay cazuelas over wood fires. It is a community mole: the women of the village gather to make it together, each contributing ingredients and labour. This tradition of communal cooking - called "mano vuelta" - is fundamental to Guerrero identity.

Tamales nejos: the singularity of the Costa Chica

Tamales nejos (ash tamales) are a unique speciality of the Guerrero Costa Chica. The corn masa is prepared with wood-ash water (instead of lime for nixtamalisation), which gives it a greyish colour and a mineral, slightly bitter flavour, completely different from any other Mexican tamal. They are filled with bean or chile and wrapped in banana leaf.

This technique of using ash instead of lime connects with the African traditions brought by the enslaved people taken to the Costa Chica during the colonial era. The Guerrero cooking of this region is one of the few in Mexico that clearly shows the Afro-descendant influence, a chapter of Mexican history that for centuries was rendered invisible.

Elopozole: the light summer pozole

Elopozole is a lighter version of pozole, made with fresh corn on the cob (kernels stripped) instead of cacahuazintle corn. It is quicker to prepare, fresher and perfect for the heat of the Guerrero coast. It is made with chicken, fresh epazote, zucchini and corn in a light broth. It is Guerrero comfort food at its finest.

This version is perfect for making in Spain because fresh sweetcorn is easy to find in any supermarket, especially in summer. You just need fresh corn cobs, chicken, zucchini, epazote (or cilantro as a substitute), onion and green chile.

Guerrero drinks

In addition to chilate, Guerrero has other notable drinks. Guerrero mezcal - less known than the Oaxacan but equally complex - is made artisanally in the sierra with cupreata agave, giving a distillate with unique herbal and mineral notes. Agua de jamaica with chia is another constant, especially on the coast, where the heat demands constant hydration.

Guerrero in your Spanish kitchen

Cooking Guerrero food in Spain is more accessible than it seems. The base ingredients - dried chiles, corn, pumpkin seeds, cocoa - can be found in Latin shops. Pescado a la talla works perfectly with Mediterranean species. And green pozole, with a little planning to get the cacahuazintle corn (or using canned pozole corn), is an absolutely rewarding weekend project.

Guerrero cooking deserves to be discovered, celebrated and cooked outside Mexico. It is a cuisine that does not try to impress with sophistication, but seeks to feed the soul with honest, intense flavours deeply rooted in centuries of history. Explore more about Mexico's regional cuisines in our recipes and discover why Mexican regional diversity is a heritage of humanity.