Marinated Bean Salad with Fried Beef Intestines

This is a starter conjured up by Mexicali based chef Guillermo Jose Barreto at "La Piazza". While trying to sway from the traditional authentic Italian cuisine the place is known for, chef Guillermo aims for a more " Baja style " dish using local ingredients for a kind of Mex-Italian groove.

" I want to appeal to the native palate, and use more locally grown products, the whole classic Italian thing was very fun for me but we've been open for close to 8 years now and its time for a change. I think I've grown in both my personal and professional life. We definitely have a better understanding of food and where it comes from. We've learned a lot from Benito Molina´s take on the whole Baja scene and all of it´s virtues. I personally feel truly inspired by Jair Tellez and everything he´s done with Laja. Baja is a great place to live and it's a very exciting time to live here. The dishes we come up with during this period may very well be the dishes that define classic Baja Californian cuisine for generations to come and I feel really lucky to be a part of that.

This is my marinated bean salad with celery and crispy beef intestines. Beef intestines might gross out a lot of people but its something Baja natives love. Before you knock it, try it. The beans are sweet and sour, spicy and tangy, creamy and crispy...we have a lot going on in this plate, and its as delicious to eat as it is fun for me to make."
For the beef intestine

5 pounds of beef intestine, veal if you can get it. Cook in a large pot with well seasoned simmering water and a bay leaf for 20 minutes or until slightly firm, cool and refrigerate for at least four hours. Cut into 2 inch pieces and fry in vegetable oil until nicely browned and crispy. Season immediately and set aside for plating.

For the marinade


2 cups of Wine Vinegar, red or white

1 cone of Mexican Piloncillo or one cup of brown sugar (Piloncillo works so much better)

1 Pasilla chili toasted

1 Chile de Arbol (any dried chili will do so mix it up and find your own take on it) toasted

Just mash up all the ingredients together and season to taste.

For the salad

1 cup Mayocaba or Peru beans cooked

1 cup of Red Kidney beans cooked

1 cup of Pinto beans cooked

1 cup of Fava beans cooked

1 cup Black beans cooked

1 cup Chick peas cooked

1 cup Lemon confit

1 cup Tomato confit

Marinade the beans overnight turning occasionally. Add the confits and store submerged in extra virgin olive oil and store over night.

To plate

Place a nice portion of the marinated beans on a plate with some diced or sliced celery. Place the crispy beef intestines on top and squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon or lime juice. I usually garnish with chiffonade of cilantro cause I love the freshness it brings to the party. Enjoy with some good crusty bread.

Buen provecho!

Tuetano......Roasted Bone Marrow

Requested by mister Masa Assasin and glad to oblige.

Our recipe for roasted bone marrow with salsa negra:

The deal with this one.. its all in the sauce, its all in the bread, its all in the quality of the bone marrow.

Get your butcher to get you the best parts of the femural bone, cut in 2 inch pieces (the butcher knows its the center cut of the bone) rub with oil and coarse sea salt, pepper optional and pop in the oven at max heat until well browned ( time will depend on the size of the bone and your oven).

Sauce is basically your classic pasilla sauce,

Get a couple of tomatillos

a ripe roma or perita tomato

half an onion dice

1 garlic clove

3 pasilla chilis toasted

2 guajillo chilis toasted

1 Chile de Arbol toasted

Sweat the onion with the garlic and fry the tomato and tomatillo,

put all the ingredients in the blender and blitz, just add salt and pepper to taste

you can also add some cilantro if you want.

Toast a few slices of good old rustic country bread...."Hogaza" makes some great bread but we make our own..and just smear the bread with the buttery soft and wonderfully sensual bone marrow, drop a dollop of our black sauce, some sea salt and enjoy my friend, cause you are in for a treat.

Try some great hand made flour tortillas instead of bread if thats your thing...its perfectly acceptable but I love the crunch we get from our baguettes.

Buen provecho amigo.

Just another laid back beer drinking Sunday

As if it wasnt enough with the near indigestive state we found ourselves after our pork overdose, we headed back to "La Piazza" which was closed of course, opened only to us and by no means serving italian cuisine, but the remainder of the exquisitly poached beef tongue, thinly sliced and served as a taco....taken to another level with an eclectically mouthwatering red radish, serrano and red onion salsa.





Try this beautiful and stupidly delicious pink salsa at home:



4 Radishes.. brunoise
1/2 a red onion.. brunoise
a couple of hot serrano chilis.. diced
a small bunch of cilantro ..chiffonade
the juice of 4 to 5 limes
salt and pepper to taste

Just mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let marinate over night in the fridge.

Beef tounge was poached in seasoned water with a couple of bay leaves, 10 pepper corns, half an onion, a clove of garlic and a guajillo chili (opcional) for two to three hours.

Cool beef tounge, thinly slice and reheat in a skillet at low heat and serve with fresh corn tortillas.






P. S. La Piazza serves Baja cuisine with an Italian flare so you won´t find this dish on the menu, you will, however find delicious local, product based dishes and freshly made pasta, monday through saturday from 1.00pm to 12.00 am, mexicali ,baja tel 686 569 37 54.