Luana Sabino, from the award-winning Metzi, teaches 3 recipes for a Mexican dinner at home

As she likes to say, Luana Sabino is the “Brazilian part” of the metzi a Mexican restaurant with a touch of Brazilian flair in the Pinheiros district of São Paulo.

beside the companion Eduardo Ortiz he was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, the chef is behind the exquisite and careful recipes of the house in São Paulo, opened in 2020 and which is already among the 50 best restaurants in Latin America in the 50 Best ranking .

Having worked at Arturito, Tuju and Peti, she met Eduardo in 2017 when they both worked at Cosme, in New York, which offers contemporary cuisine inspired by Mexican flavors.

Even though she is Brazilian, you can tell that the chef has a little foot in the Latin American country, right?

Next, Luana Sabino teaches three typical recipes that cannot be missing on a Mexican night : Guacamole , quesadilla It is carnitas . Don’t be afraid of seasonings, use lemon as you wish and bon appetit!

Guacamole

A good guacamole doesn’t need many ingredients, but it does need quality products and a good avocado . A respectable guacamole does not use avocado: we use the fruit for other things, but not for the Mexican delicacy.

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
• 1/4 of an onion cut brunoise (small cubes)
• 40 ml of lemon juice
• 1 sliced ​​jalapeno

Method of preparation:

• Mix all the ingredients and knead with the help of a fork or with your hands. The idea is to make the avocado not so liquid but more robust;
• Tip: If you don’t feel the acidity in your jaw, you won’t feel it in your heart! If so, add more lemon;
• Add a pinch of cilantro to finish.

quesadilla

It’s a simple classic and ready in no time. With the tortillas already in hand, preferably made from Creole corn, all you have to do is have a cheese of your choice available and also use mastruz herb, also known as Santa Maria herb.

Ingredients:

• corn tortilla that can be bought ready-made (preferably from Creole corn);
• a cheese of your choice that melts well and is not too greasy so as not to release too much oil;
• Mastruz herb (in Brazil it is also called epazote. It is an herb with a super-Mexican flavor. In Mexican recipes, the tip is to use but not abuse the herb, since it steals the flavor).

Method of preparation:

• stuff the tortilla with the cheese and herbs;
• place in a frying pan and, when the cheese has melted, close the tortilla.

Carnitas

It is the portion of pork confit in its own fat. Different parts of the pig can be used and the lard enriches the flavor of the recipe, which is very popular in Mexico.

Ingredients:

• Pork (the parts and the quantity you want)
• Chopped onion
• Coriander
• Lemon juice

Method of preparation:

• Use both fat and lean pieces of meat. Let it confit in its own fat until all the pieces are soft. Tip: To achieve softness, place the hardest and fattest pieces first for confit; then the softest and leanest;
• To finish, cut all the parts very finely or shred and assemble a taco or tortilla with onions, cilantro, lots of lemon and a good salsa.