Melissa Garcia, Editor-in-Chief

Family gatherings always consist of many Hispanic dishes as my parents are Mexican, but one of my favorite dishes has to be enchiladas. Growing up, my aunt’s red cheese enchiladas were my favorite meal she’d make. When I relocated to Santa Barbara, my mom started making green chicken enchiladas. As soon as I see her start to prepare them, my mouth waters. She flips the tortilla that’s getting lightly fried in oil then removes it, dipping it into the green salsa she made. The salsa consists of five chile poblanos, four serrano peppers, two garlic cloves, one half of a yellow onion, four tomatillos, a tablespoon of oregano, and a couple pinches of salt. These ingredients then got boiled in water and chopped up in a blender. It’s the perfect amount of spice and it balances out with the shredded chicken and mayonnaise stuffing. My mom then rolls my third enchilada together and places it onto my plate and I continue to complete the rest of my dish. I add Mexican sour cream, lettuce, and pickled red onion slices on top of the enchiladas and take a picture to post it on my food Instagram account. I finally take my first bite and I am already excited for the next one as the warm enchilada delights my mouth. 

Jenna McMahon, Photo Editor

My favorite Hispanic dish is patatas bravas. Patatas bravas originated in Madrid, Spain and is one of their most popular tapas. I chose this dish because I love how easy it is to make, yet it is so flavorful. To make this dish there are two main elements, the potatoes and the sauce. There are many different ways to make it, but the one I enjoy the most is the recipe from “Spanish Sabores.” Their recipe calls for you to cut the potatoes into bite-size chunks and deep fry them in olive oil. Now for my favorite part of the dish, the sauce, which is the perfect mixture of sweet and spicy. There are two main seasonings necessary for the sauce to taste as good as it does, pimentón dulce (sweet) and pimentón picante (hot), pimentón is also known as smoked paprika.After the potatoes and the sauce are both done, all one has to do is drizzle the sauce right onto the potatoes and the dish is ready to be served. 

Yarrow Hogan, News Editor

When I heard that my homework was to make dinner in honor of Hispanic heritage month, I had never been more excited. I decided to make the meal that I seem to make every night of the year. I could eat tacos of any kind for the rest of my life; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This week, I decided to make fajitas de camarones for a roommate dinner. I sautéed the onion and peppers while seasoning the fresh shrimp. When everything was ready, I warmed some corn tortillas for everyone, cut up a lime, got my favorite salsa, and then we were ready to eat. I decided to make this dish because it is reminiscent of a wonderful night out on the town in Sayulita, Mexico with my best friend. We ate at a restaurant and I got fajitas de camarones. Now every time I make it, I think of that night.

Sunny Silverstein, Opinion Editor

My favorite Hispanic dish is a traditional Spanish food called tortilla de patata. I first tried this simple dish when I was studying abroad in Spain during my junior year of highschool. My host family cooked this for me the first night I arrived at their home and I’ll never forget it. It’s an egg-based dish with pieces of cooked potatoes and onions. It’s in the shape of a cake and you slice it like pie. The egg is fluffy and delicate and the potatoes are soft and warm. The whole dish is extremely comforting and I crave it on rainy days. It always reminds me of my host family and all of the memories I made with them. The semester I spent in Spain was one of the best times in my life and tortilla de patata was something I always looked forward to. One day I hope to learn the recipe and master the technique required to make this wonderful dish.