>> Pati Narrates: Mexico.

Every time I think I know you so well, you manage to surprise me.

As I travel my beloved country, I'm greeted by familiar scenes everywhere I go.

Magic, sleepy colonial towns.

Sun-soaked, happy beach destinations.

Vibrant, thriving cities full of life.

But I always find it so exciting to get off the beaten path to really get to know a place.

We're gonna take 'em to the river, come.

Pati Narrates: Today we are leaving the familiar behind in search of new adventures.

Pati: Hey!

>> Daniel: Hola Pati!

>> Pati Narrates: I'm meeting up with local guide Daniel to follow him up into the mountains where few outsiders have ever travelled before.

How do we go?

Do we walk?

Do we hike?

Pati: Here in Jinetes miles from the rest of civilization, the Machado family appears to be stuck in time, and they're holding on to a most valuable treasure, traditional family recipes that have been passed through one generation after another untouched.

So it's a family town.

And the Machado family welcomes me with a feast, the softest corn tortillas made with fresh masa.

Rich masa dumpling and bean soup.

And one of Mexico's most loved recipes, Capirotada, the way the Machados have been making it since anyone there can remember.

Pati: It tastes like passed down tradition.

In my kitchen, recipes inspired by my adventure in the mountains.

I'm making a take on that Masa Dumpling Soup with a hearty pinto bean base.

This is truly a taste of the countryside of Mexico.

My take on Capirotada, a sweet and savory bread pudding layered with toasted bread, caramelized plantains, juicy mangoes, crunchy peanuts, salty crumbled cheese, and it's all drenched in an oh-so-sweet piloncillo syrup.

The contrast in flavors and textures is what makes the Capirotada so addicting.

I think America is ready for the next bread pudding.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Pati: I have gotten so many requests for a traditional Capirotada.

Capirotada is Mexico's iconic bread pudding.

It is a dish that you just grow up eating.

It's like part of breathing the air of Mexico, that is how huge Capirotada is.

Some people fry the bread in lard, I like to bake it in butter.

We have some melted butter, and I'm brushing my pan with the melted butter.

I have my layers of bread which I sliced between 3/4-inch and 1-inch.

You want it to have enough thickness so after it toasts you can bite into it, and also we're gonna make 3 layers and we want those layers to be sturdy 'cause we're gonna pack 'em up and drench them in syrup.

Now I'll brush this bread lightly with melted butter.

I have my oven at 350 degrees and I'll bake this bread 20 - 25 minutes.

I want this bread to be super crunchy, crispy and toasty.

So now I'll make the piloncillo syrup which will be poured all over the bread pudding.

I have 2 pioncillo cones.

Piloncillo is the most unprocessed, unrefined form of cane sugar.

I'll drop them in this saucepan, and then I'll pour about 8 cups of water.

I have 1 stick of true cinnamon or canela.

I have a few whole cloves, 1 star anise, 1/4 cup raisins.

I'll bring this to a boil and I'll let it simmer 25 - 30 minutes.

I want the liquid to be reduced by half.

I'm heating a large skillet because now I'll fry some plantains.

The plantain is not a banana, the plantain is a much starchier fruit that is more like a vegetable.

You really need to cook it.

1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp vegetable oil because it helps the butter not burn, and I'll start browning my plantains, and this will be like 1 minute per side.

If you sauté or brown your plantains like this in a little oil and butter it really brings their sugars out.

I think my bread is ready, I'll take it out.

Ooh, yes, yes!

This is what you want.

So you see how it beautifully browned?

Once they start browning you have to go fast.

I'll take my plantains out, and I'm happy to finally share a super traditional Capirotada recipe.

We have the plantains which are a traditional addition, but I wanted to add something fresh and bright that goes really nice with plantains, and why not mangoes?

We love mangoes in this house, so I already peeled and sliced one, but I need another one.

So this will add a really fresh and bright note to the Capirotada which is a heavy bread pudding drenched in sticky syrup, so it'll balance things out.

There we have it, and now it's time to build.

This baking dish I already buttered generously.

And I'll do 3 layers.

So I have my first layer of bread, plantains.

It is kind of a crazy concoction when you think about it 'cause it is fried bread and then all sorts of fruits, and then it has everything drenched in a syrup, it is kind of a crazy mix, but we Mexicans love strong clashing flavors.

I'm adding a layer of peanuts.

Cotija cheese.

We have this syrup that already cooked down.

I'm gonna remove the cinnamon stick, anise seed, and cloves.

I'll spoon my syrup all over and build my second layer the same as the first.

I'm adding a third layer of just bread, and now I'm just pouring the rest of the syrup straight onto the last layer of bread.

The oven is set at 350 degrees, I'll cover this tightly with aluminum foil.

I'm gonna bake it for 50 minutes, and then I'll remove the foil and let it brown on top for another 10 minutes.

Pati Narrates: Sinaloa.

Mexico's bread basket.

A state known for a seemingly endless supply of bounty and beauty.

From the Sierra Madre to the Sea of Cortez, Sinaloa has so much to give.

Most of the tourism industry is centred here, Mazatlan, where giant cruise ships drop visitors for a quick tour of a gorgeous city with colorful streets.

But sometimes you just need a little extra adventure.

Pati: Hey!

>> Daniel: Hola Pati!

>> Pati Narrates: Daniel is a local guide who specializes in tours off the beaten path.

>> Daniel: It's about 14 houses, just 10 of them are occupied by the people, one of them is Geraldo's family.

>> Pati: Hi Geraldo!

>> Geraldo: Mucho gusto.

>> Pati: Mucho gusto!

Pati Narrates: They will take us somewhere few visitors have ever seen.

High up in the mountains, far from the cruise ship rounds, the town of Jinetes.

How do we go?

Do we walk, do we hike?

>> Daniel: By car.

(laughs) we gotta drive.

>> Pati: Okay, let's go!

Danny's family is from a town not too far from Jinetes called La Noria.

>> Daniel: This is La Noria.

>> Pati: Oh that's beautiful!

>> Daniel: And that's the church.

>> Pati Narrates: For him, these tours are an opportunity to show people the true face of Sinaloa, where traditions and culture have been preserved for generations.

Pati Narrates: Jinetes is Spanish for "horse riders", and Machado is the family name of the people who live here, the Machado Horse Riders.

Ah, okay, Machado, Machado.

>> Geraldo: Machados, yes.

>> Pati: So it's a family town.

>> Pati: So when they're looking for a girlfriend they have to go somewhere to find her and then bring her here.

What do you do to lure them here?

>> Pati Narrates: Jinetes is little more than a few houses clustered beside a river, which is barely a trickle these days during the dry season.

The closest tour is an hour away by car, or three by horse, but I'm about to discover there's still plenty going on here, and they have pretty much everything they need.

>> Pati: That's his house!

>> Pati: Wow, wow, wow!

>> Pati: They brought you from La Noria and how has it been?

>> Pati Narrates: Jinetes is entirely self-sustaining.

That includes preserving, nixtamalization and grinding their corn for masa, and it's not just food that they grow.

Pati: Did you see the tortilla holder?

>> Pati: There's no refrigeration!

Mmm.

Mmm!

So good.

Mmm!

Pati: The belly button in the soup turns out to be a dumpling made of masa.

Marielena patiently explains how they mash and season a pot of soupy beans, and then shows me how to shape the masa.

See?

It looks like your belly button, no?

It looks like mine (laughs) (cattle rancher calls) >> Pati: Oh, the cattle's coming!

Oh, that's the grandpa!

We're gonna take 'em to the river.

Pati Narrates: The Machados are cattle ranchers, and I can see why.

Jinetes is surrounded by open land for grazing, and their river provides plenty of fresh water for the animals to drink.

(cattle rancher calls) >> Pati Narrates: I barely have time to stretch my legs before they take me on another adventure.

The area around Jinetes is also a nature preserve created to protect native species of animals, plants, and these rock carvings made by the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the region.

>> Daniel: We just know a little bit about them.

What they know is that it was 1500 years ago.

There's a lot of research to do, a lot of work to do.

>> Pati: You see the eye?

And there's like a lizard's tongue.

>> Daniel: I didn't see it like that!

>> Pati: Playing, like, with the clouds.

Yeah!

But the connection to a vibrant life in these mountains is clear, and for Danny, he feels closer to it than ever.

>> Daniel: When I was a little kid I lived this experience, it was like my daily life.

>> Pati: You take it for granted.

>> Daniel: Uh-huh, you take it for granted!

>> Pati: So you have to go live in other places to come back and - >> Daniel: Realize that this is amazing.

>> Pati Narrates: Marielena has one more treat for me.

It is their take on a traditional and iconic Mexican dessert.

Capirotada is a bread pudding made with toasted bread, cheese, nuts and dried fruit.

Oh, plantain!

But it's the surprising additions that make each family's recipe unique.

Capirotada with ate!

"Ate" is like a guava paste.

I've never tasted capirotada with ate so I'm excited.

After layering the ingredients to the top, it is then soaked with a spiced sweet syrup.

(laughs) >> Pati: Ah, they put peaches in this one!

Mmm.

Mmm!

It tastes like passed down tradition.

Pati: Wow, wow, wow!

So the Machado clan got together and they're giving us the most amazing welcome, they have fresh made pain dulce, homemade dulce de leches, sweetened pumpkin, and here the guys are already eating Belly Button Soup.

Pati Narrates: Trying to bring more people to Jinetes to showcase its beauty almost conflicts with trying to preserve what exists.

But it is this tug and pull that feels almost electrifying when you're here, and it makes it irresistible for me to share with everyone and to tell people to come, to learn from it, and treasure it too.

>> Pati: It's been 50 minutes, so I'll take my Capirotada out of the oven, I'll remove the foil, put it back in for 10 minutes so that the top beautifully browns.

And just like the Capirotada is very traditional and kind of rustic, the soup that I'm about to make really speaks to the ingredients you find in Mexico's countryside, like beans, chile, and this one, which is a beautiful and rich surprise, corn masa dumplings.

So I'll begin by chopping 1/2 an onion.

I have my casserole at medium-high heat, I'll add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil.

(onion sizzles) I want it to wilt and begin to brown around the edges because that's gonna flavor the soup.

This is a soup that you will find out in the countryside all over Mexico.

It's filling, hearty, warm.

So I'm slicing 1 clove of garlic.

2 ripe roma tomatoes.

Just as much as I want the onion to brown, I don't want the garlic to brown.

Then I'll add my tomatoes.

I have to check my Capirotada too, which is perfect timing, thank you.

Pati: You need to see, because this is how you need the tomatoes, mushy, super soft, and now I'll add pinto beans that I cooked, and all I did was grab a pound of pinto beans, I put them in my pot with half an onion, I covered it with water, and I let this cook for like 1 hour 15 minutes just until the pinto beans are really soft.

Now I'll add 3 cups of the cooked pinto beans, and 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

If you didn't cook the beans at home, add 1 cup of water.

I'm going to add 4 cups of homemade chicken broth, but you can also add store-bought chicken broth, or vegetable broth.

I'll let this come to a strong simmer and cook for 10 minutes so all these flavors come together.

Meanwhile I'm going to make my corn masa dumplings that will cook inside the soup.

So I have 1 cup of corn masa flour.

Now, many choices here and I know there are many brands.

Whatever brand you find, look for "corn masa flour" or "masa harina for tamales" and that just means it has a little baking powder which will make them puff.

3/4 cups of water, a pinch of salt, and this makes masa.

Let me rinse my hands so I can chop my herbs.

So I have this masa base and I'll flavor it with some fresh cilantro and some fresh mint, a couple tablespoons of oil, some queso fresco - 4 ounces or 1/2 a cup.

These little masa dumplings are called different things in different regions of Mexico.

In places like Sinaloa, when the soup has these kinds of dumplings it's called "Belly Button Soup" because the little dumplings have a little indentation.

You make a little ball like this, and then with your thumb you make a tiny little hole, and then when you add these masa dumplings into the soup, the masa starts permeating into the soup and it thickens it.

Okay, so my masa dumplings are ready to be dropped into the soup.

I need to transfer the soup to my blender.

I'm gonna puree this until completely smooth.

(blender whirs) Pati: You can see the beautiful color, and then I'll add 4 more cups of chicken broth, and now these adorable masa dumplings, as they cook because they have queso fresco and mint and cilantro, they're going to render all that fresh flavor into the broth.

Now that I put my dumplings in, I'm gonna partially cover and let this simmer for about 20 minutes, and I'll get my garnishes ready.

You can see how much the soup has thickened, and see how creamy it is?

So you can see how adorable these little dumplings are.

I'll add some more cilantro the I just chopped, and some scallions.

Little bit of crema.

This is begging for some heat, so I'll mash some of these chiltepin chiles which are the iconic dried chile from Sinaloa.

So I'm using this little masher, and that looks so cute!

I'll cut into that little dumpling.

Mmm.

Mhmm!

The inside of the dumpling - it's a pocket full of masa, and it has the taste from the queso fresco, and it's tangy, it's slightly salty, the creamy pinto soup is just earthy and nurturing.

This is truly a taste of the countryside of Mexico.

Pati: My Capirotada is ready, and I can't wait for you to see what it looks like inside!

I'm gonna sprinkle a little confectioner's sugar on top.

Mmm.

Mhmm!

The combination is so incredibly delicious, you have the super juicy sweet mango, the plantain that has that butter flavor, you get a little bit of the taste, but you don't feel the bite of the cotija cheese, and then it's fun because you have the outside layer that's crunchy, and that I'll bit into.

Mmm.

As much as I thought that the Capirotada is a dish that only Mexicans adore, I think America is ready for the next bread pudding, and it is Capirotada.

>> Pati Narrates: For recipes and information from this episode and more, visit PatiJinich.com, and connect!

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @PatiJinich.