Cabrito Con Chicharos

This recipe hails from 'La Cosina en el Bolsillo No. 1,' published in 1913 in Mexico by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo. This small-format book was part of a hugely popular series, designed to democratize cooking by making traditional and festive dishes accessible to home cooks of all backgrounds. 'Cabrito con Chícharos' embodies rural Mexican fare at the turn of the twentieth century, with blended influences from Spanish colonial cuisine and enduring indigenous practices. Cabrito—the tender meat of a young goat—was a prized delicacy in northern Mexican ranching regions, while the use of aromatic spices like nutmeg and clove signals a festive meal. This dish captures the ingenuity and flavor-layering of early twentieth-century Mexican kitchens, combining humble offal with costly spices and fresh seasonal vegetables.

Back in 1913, this recipe would have been prepared using a wood-fired oven or an open hearth for roasting the cabrito. Large clay or cast-iron roasting pans would cradle the meat, while metal spits or racks might support it above the heat. Eggs would be beaten with hand whisks or wooden spoons, and frying would be done in cast-iron or tin-plated pans over direct flame. Chopping was handled with well-kept kitchen knives on wooden boards. All mixing was by hand, and the finishing sauce simmered gently in heavy pots or cazuelas. Presentation was likely rustic: the roasted cabrito surrounded by its jewel-green, aromatic sauce.