Raul’s Cocina: Classic Phoenix Mexican Food with a Vegan Flair
One of Chef Anna’s latest vegan meal concoctions: Jackfruit Bowl, Chorizo Beans, and Blue Corn Chips.
When Chef Anna Salazar’s son switched to a vegan diet for health reasons, he struggled to find and enjoy traditional Mexican dishes that he grew up eating. Anna made a few changes to her family’s recipes and uncovered the secret behind her food business: Raul’s Cocina.
Armed with the knowledge that came from her family’s experience working in Phoenix-based, family-owned Mexican restaurants since 1964 (restaurants such as La Canasta, Garcias, and Manuel’s), Anna took some of those popular Mexican-American staples and transformed them into healthy, plant-based meals that are filled with flavor and a bit of spice—Anna’s special touch.
Her deep understanding of chile peppers has garnered her the nickname “Anna Salsa.” Nearly all of her dishes start with the chile pepper as the base of her flavors and then she adds vegetables, herbs, and spices for layers of complex flavors, which is perfectly executed in her salsas. She has cultivated techniques that elevate her plant-based menus, such as adding jalapeno peppers and fresh chopped vegetables that are finely diced to ceviche and chickpea salad. Chipotle peppers and adobo sauce are mashed in with aquafaba for a creamy rich flavor in her southwest salad that is reminiscent of chicken salad. Dried guajillo peppers are rehydrated in a garlicky onion broth for a flavorful base in her vegan pozole and chiliqilles offerings.
We asked Chef Anna to share one of her favorite recipes with us, and we’re so pleased to pass this very special one to you.
Raul’s Cocina Ceviche
2 cups hearts of palm thin sliced (Rinsed and drained)
1 cup diced tomatoes (she uses cherry multi-colored)
1 cup diced celery thin sliced
1 cup thin sliced seeded and peeled cucumber
1/2 cup fine diced red onion
1/2 cup fine diced jalapeno (use serranos if you want more heat)
1/2 cup fine diced mango
Zest of medium orange
1/2 cup peeled diced orange
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 to 1 tablespoon salt, pepper and dried oregano leaves crushed
Directions: Fold all ingredients together. Serve with chips, on a tostada or as a salad topper.
Just some of the ready-made goodies you can find at Raul’s Cocina booth at Uptown Farmers Market, the Nile, and Main Street Harvest.
The Force Behind Raul’s Cocina
Raul’s Cocina tamales are the most requested item on the menu, and Chef Anna has garnered quite a reputation with her green corn tamales, which were inspired by her father’s cooking. Anna’s father, Raul, passed away when she was five, but he lives through her food and passion for cooking. Both Anna and her father studied architecture and cooked as a side hobby. When Anna left a corporate position in 2014, her son encouraged her to turn her passion into a reality. “My son was the driving force behind starting the company, and we didn’t hesitate to name it after my Dad,” she said.
Chef Anna is currently one of many up-and-coming food entrepreneurs working in Local First Arizona’s Mesa Community Kitchen. You can find Raul’s Cocina at Uptown Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, Main Street Harvest in Mesa, and The Nile’s Vegan Drive Thru.