Hello chilebean,
Firstly, _where_ is Baja?
” The Baja California peninsula… [stretches] from the U. S. border in
the north, to Cabo San Lucas in the south…. The cities of Tijuana,
Ensenada, Mexicali, and La Paz, hold a combined 2,385,000 people,
approximately 90% of the entire peninsula's population! … The northern
portion of the peninsula is rugged, with low hills and valleys, and
small- to medium- sized farming towns every 30 miles or so. The
middle section is true desert…The southern part of Baja is considered
"semi-arid", tropical mixed in with a little desert. It is very
common to spot green, tropical plants mixed in the background with a
tall cardon cactus. The Tropic of Cancer actually passes through the
peninsula, between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas.”
Excerpts from: http://www.timsbaja.com/info.html
The sea between the peninsula and mainland Mexico is called the Sea of
Cortez and it “supports more marine life than any other body of water
on earth.” It contains over 900 species of fish plus shrimp,
scallops, clams, oysters, mussels and spiny lobster.
Baja-style cooking, therefore, is basically Mexican, but with a big
emphasis on seafood.
From a description of “Cooking with Baja Magic” by Ann Hazard: “It's
a take-no-prisoners mesh of salsas and sauces, soups, salads, seafood
dishes, tacos, burritos, tostados, desserts and drinks that are long
on heat and flavor and short on the fuss.”
http://funtripslive.com/cabo/common/bookstore/cooking.htm
“The most important rule of thumb when preparing fresh pescados y
mariscos is to cook them just until they are done. The cardinal sin of
overcooking results in tasteless fish and rubbery shellfish. If you
favor the idea of not cooking them at all, as in ceviche, in which the
seafood is "cooked" by marinating in lime, be sure that the fish is
the freshest possible.”
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgbaja1.html (you’ll
find some recipes here)
Here are some more seafood recipes in Baja style:
http://www.cabogoodtimes.com/bajafishrecipes.htm
And a few more: http://www.caske2000.org/cook/cookbaja.htm
And if you plan to go down there and catch some fish yourself, here
are some tips on how to deal with them:
http://www.eastcape.org/Recipes/CookingTips.html
Bon Apetit!
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