Otro De Perejil Para Lo Mismo

This recipe hails from a handwritten Mexican culinary manuscript dated to the early 1900s, a time of vibrant domestic experimentation and the preservation of traditional dishes. The collection, most likely crafted by home cooks, reflects rich Mexican family cooking, blending Old World techniques like frying in lard and seasoning with cinnamon and cloves with native produce such as tomatoes and chilies. This parsley-centric sauce, intended to accompany poached chicken, shows how cooks balanced spice, acidity, and texture before refrigeration and processed foods reshaped kitchens. Such recipes were typically handwritten or passed orally, reflecting regional preferences and the intersection of Spanish, indigenous, and later influences. Ingredients like olives and pickled chilies signal the mingling of European and Mexican eating styles in urban households around the Porfiriato era.

Back in the early 20th century, cooks would have used a stone metate or a heavy mortar and pestle (molcajete) to grind the tomatoes, herbs, and spices into a fine paste. Frying took place in a sturdy copper or cast-iron cazuela over a wood or charcoal-burning stove. Bread would be toasted or fried in lard, then broken up by hand. Blending and straining tasks would have been much more physical—no food processors or blenders to be found! Broth would be made from scratch, simmered over hours on the stove. A clay or ceramic serving dish would be used to bring the final sauce to the table, keeping it warm and aromatic.