Recipe: Esquites with Marrow

In Mexico, street snacks often flirt with chaos. Think corn chips topped with pickled pork skin, gummy bears, lime, hot sauce, chilli powder and instant noodles. There’s a joyfully unhinged genre of eating here – playful, messy and unconcerned with restraint. These esquites with bone marrow don’t go quite that far, but they stroll confidently in the same direction. 

Esquites, a beloved Mexican street food dish, are traditionally simple: corn simmered with epazote – a fragrant herb whose flavour suggests oregano, anise, citrus and mint – plus onion, lime and chilli. Epazote can look wilted when found in markets, as it loses structure quickly after harvest, but this has no impact on its distinctive taste. 

In mercados across Mexico, esquites are typically served in small cups as an everyday street snack. This version keeps the classic base intact while adding roasted beef bone marrow, pushing the dish into deeper, silkier territory. The broth becomes richer, the texture more luxurious. Finished with mayonnaise, Cotija cheese and powdered chilli – as custom demands – the line between snack and indulgence begins to blur.

This recipe is taken from ‘El Bajío: Recipes & Wanderings Through Mexico’s Heartland,’ the fourth cookbook in the collaborative series between Belmond and Apartamento. Read more about the publication or purchase a copy on the Apartamento website.