Secret meringue recipe from Mexico

SISAL IS AN OLD SPANISH colony in the extreme northwest of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. It is a poor place. A lost place But it is definitely not a lonely place.

We arrived at midnight after a five hour drive around the peninsula with friends. They wanted to introduce us to their house. We wanted to see it. The moon had risen and cast its glow over the lagoon where the fresh water from the cenotes mixes with the sea. We unpacked our overnight bags and climbed into bed at a twelve dollar a night hotel and slept like the dead.

In the gray light of pre-dawn, we dragged ourselves from sleep in anticipation of a sunrise glimpse of pink Mexican flamingos, preferably while feeding on steaming cups of local coffee. Little did I know that my day would be all Anthony Bourdain and would end in the kitchen of my host’s great-aunt, where I would learn carefully guarded recipes passed down from mother to daughter to wide-eyed traveler.

I enjoyed that day with her Spanish immersion with Mona and Tia Ligia amidst sizzling Yucatan squash and shrimp and fresh tomatoes and chiles and market-bought bacon and crab and conch and octopus ceviche and achiote and epazote pasta and soft noodles and light as- meringue look. I will never forget. Connected. A few hours with the family I just met. Not my family, but my family. Because in those moments, they became my family. Because, when I left late in the afternoon, Tía Ligia grabbed my hands and insisted in her sweet broken English: “This is your house. This is your house!”

I hope to return one day, although it is a long journey through miles of jungle and swamps. Not to mention far, far away from the grid. I fell in love that day. And I’m sure if you’d been there you’d understand.

This is the place.

Thank you Mona for teaching me how to make meringue and introducing me to your iguana. And thank you, Tia, for inviting me into your heart.

MERINGUE

Closely guarded and hailed as the Yucatan’s own version of this classic French dessert.

6 egg whites

2 cups organic sugar (ivory colored)

Quarter-sized slice of lime rind

2 drops of lime juice

11 tablespoons of water

1. Add water and lime rinse to sugar and boil until it becomes a ball in your fingers after soaking in cold water (soft ball stage).

2. Add 2 drops of lemon juice. This makes the meringue bright white.

3. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

4. Pour the sugar syrup in a steady stream into the egg white while rotating the bowl and beat until thick and firm.

5. At this stage, the meringue forms a velvety smooth frosting for cakes and cookies.

6. If desired, spoon onto cookie sheet and cook until crystal clear and dry.