Fresh Tuna Melt

Every year I come with my family to Cabo.  My uncle and aunt moved to San Jose del Cabo when they were newly wed, and starting about 11 years or so, we have come out here almost every Christmas.  Now it feels like a home away from home.  We keep a simple rhythm while we are here.  We take long walks to the Estero (the estuary at the end of the beach in San Jose) and watch the fishermen with their nets along the shore.  We go for surfing and swimming at Los Cerritos beach, on the road to Todos Santos.  We visit the Hotel California.  Sometimes the women will go to the Melia ME for margaritas and people watching.  At sunset we take walks on the beach, and if we are lucky, we take a boat ride around the bay in San Lucas.  In Cabo, you are guaranteed a majestic sunset every single day.  And with that, you do not really need anything else. 

The cuisine here is centered on seafood, and it is all very simple.  The fish tacos at Rossy are our favorite thing, and you can basically find us there almost every other day.  Sometimes it is the tostada de pescado, but most often I get shrimp tacos in corn tortillas with receta.  At night we discovered the tamal stands outside of the church in San Jose.  I have eaten a lot of tamales this year, and they are by far the best I have had between here and New York.  I love their corn tamal, with fresh corn grated into the masa for an amazing sweet treat. Of course, I have to add spicy sauce on top for contrast- I can't let that chilito get away! The sushi here is incredible- I venture to say it is one of the best places to have sushi, because the Mexican ingredients like avocado, mango, cilantro, and chile have obviously already made their way into Japanese menus around the world.  Here, where the freshness of the fish is unparallel, sushi reaches its zenith.  And last but not least, my favorite thing in the world (I would say tied with Lebanese man'ouche bi za'atar) is the clams in mustard sauce from Loreto, a town 6 hours north of San Jose. They are razor clams that are cooked and served in a mustard sauce with pickled carrots, onion, and jalapeno.  More on this later. . .

We eat out when we have antojos for these particular things, but most of the time we eat at home (my favorite restaurant).  For some of our meals we plan out what we will cook, but usually we end up with a whole tuna or marlin, or sea bass, and that is what dictates to us what will happen.  Whatever occurs to us to do with it is what we do, and usually it is unbelievably good.  Last fall, my uncle went fishing with a friend and they caught a ton of tuna.  My aunt ate as much as she could, but then froze the rest for the Winter.  The other day she took out some fillets and boiled them to make a tuna salad.  I have always loved tuna salad, and so we managed to have her leave the leftovers at our house.  The next day I was putting together my lunch, while my parents picked my sister up at the airport, and it occured to me to make Mexican tuna melts.  It seemed only natural that a quesadilla could have fresh tuna salad in it.  There were fresh flour tortillas in the fridge from town (amazing), and we also had some mild manchego cheese.  I put it together and garnished it with tomato and avocado, and some salsa Valentina.  When my family got home I offered some up, since they had not gone to Rossy like planned.  I ended up spending the next hour serving up tuna melts to everyone.  They were truly good and very much going to stay in my repertoire.  

I can't take all of the credit, because we work like a true team here: my uncle caught the fish, my aunt made the salad, and I just worked the leftovers.  When someone is stumped for an ingredient or detail, someone else always has a good idea or tip that would make it better.  I can't wait for the rest of our leftovers.