What to Eat in Mexico - Romeritos, Another X-mas Speciality

It's the season again, which gives me the perfect opportunity to return to my old series on Mexican food. Today I want to look at a special delicacy for Christmas, the so called Romeritos. It is not a very common dish, even for Christmas. I've tasted it a few years ago, and since my sister-in-law made some this year, I thought I'd write a post about it. Unfortunately I was not there for the preparation, so I only have a photo of the completed dish.

A Dish Based Mainly on Rosemary

Romeritos, or rather romeros, is the Spanish word for rosemary. Okay, so this dish is based on an herb that otherwise is mostly used as a seasoning, applied in moderate quantities because of its strong flavor. Not so in this case! For a typical 4-person dish you need to take an entire kilo (2.2 lbs) of fresh rosemary. The rest is mainly a mole dish, with mushrooms or shrimp cakes, and some veggies, just to have something to sink your teeth into. Otherwise it's true, this dish mostly flavor...

What You Need

• Fresh rosemary (1 kg / 2.2 pounds)
• Your favorite mole powder (half a liter / 2 cups)
• Chicken broth (a liter / 4 cups)
• Shrimp powder (200 g / 7 ounces)
• Eggs (4)
• Oil (half a liter / 2 cups)
• Potatoes, carrots, or other veggies (500 g / 1 pound)
• Salt to taste

How To Make It

• Place the rosemary and the other veggies in boiling water for a few minutes.
• Make shrimp paddies by mixing the shrimp powder with the eggs, and fry them in the oil.
• Mix the mole powder with the chicken broth and fry it in a pan with a bit of oil.
• Add the rosemary and the vegetables to the mole, and stir until everything is covered. Taste and salt if needed.
• Now pour everything over the shrimp paddies.
• Done.

Romeritos to Complete Other Dishes

As you may have guessed, this dish can't really stand on its own. However, its delightful taste will be much appreciated alongside the obligatory Christmas Cod Bacalao, or other food items of the holiday season.

For more on Mexican food, check out my series What to Eat in Mexico:

Tacos - As Basic As You Can Get
Tortillas and Other Incarnations of Maize
Making Salsa
Guacamole - With and Without Spirulina
Chilaquiles, for Stale Tortillas and a Hangover
Pozole - Not Just for Independence Day!
Nopales - a Vegetarian Delicacy
Huitlacoche - a Mold That Just Tastes so Good
Carnitas of Michoacan
Chapulines, Escamoles, and Maguey Worms
Tamales - the Best Way to Eat Corn
Tlayudas - the Oaxaca-Size Tortilla
Cochinita Pibil - the Buried Piglet from the Yucatan
Barbacoa - Pitt-Cooked Lamb from the Central Highlands
Chicharrón - the Best Snack to Munch on
Migas - Another Option for Stale Tortillas
Chiles en Nogada - A Dish of National Pride
Sope, Tlacoyo, Huarache, Gordita - When Tortillas Get Big, Fat, and Full of Stuff
Bacalao - X-mas Speciality
Mole - Way Beyond Nutella
Empanadas - Mexican Style