During Lent in Mexico, culinary tradition transforms to adapt to the abstention from meat, making fish and seafood the main protagonists of gastronomy. This season combines religious devotion with creativity in the kitchen, giving rise to typical dishes prepared without meat, such as the stone broth of the Chinantecos in Oaxaca, pickled oysters from the southeast, Maya octopus, or fried mojarra from the rivers of the north.
The arrival of the Spaniards in America consolidated this Christian tradition of consuming fish during Lent, leading to a wide variety of dishes such as ceviches, shrimp patties with nopal, seafood broths, among others. In Europe, Catholic monasteries used to consume salted herring, dried cod, and smoked fish, an influence that is reflected in Mexican Lenten gastronomy with dishes such as romeritos with mole, stewed nopales, lentils, fish tamales, or chard tamales, among others.
The Church has reinforced throughout the centuries the tradition of consuming fish during Lent as a symbolic act of penance and humility. In Mexico, this custom has adapted with local ingredients and techniques, highlighting marine flavors in dishes such as crab chilpacholes, fried mojarras, shrimp tortas in chipotle sauce, romeritos with mole, and many more.
Since the early centuries of the Christian era, the abstention from red meat during Lent has led to fish and seafood representing a source of protein and an important part of Mexican culinary identity, where the seas, rivers, and lakes offer their variety to enrich the table during this special season. The rich Mexican Lenten culinary tradition is a legacy shared in community, remembering the history and creativity that unfolds in each dish, keeping this custom alive that unites faith with gastronomy.
