Roberto SolÍs News Today

- oh, its cold. its cold. so this is called a cenote. its a natural sinkhole. its very unique to the yucatán peninsula. they were very sacred to the mayans. they believed that this was a passage to the underworld. ♪ ♪ the maya define the culture of yucatán. as one of the great civilizations in central america, their influence is everywhere. this is huge! their dna runs through every local dish. - [speaking spanish] - and their ancient ways are still a source of inspiration. - let...

its very unique to the yucatán peninsula. they were very sacred to the mayans. they believed that this was a passage to the underworld. ♪ ♪ the maya define the culture of yucatán. as one of the great civilizations in central america, their influence is everywhere. this is huge! their dna runs through every local dish. - [speaking spanish] - and their ancient ways are still a source of inspiration. - lets let it burn a little bit more, and... - more? - we grind. - im eva longoria,...

its very unique to the yucatán peninsula. they were very sacred to the mayans. they believed that this was a passage to the underworld. ♪ ♪ the maya define the culture of yucatán. as one of the great civilizations in central america, their influence is everywhere. this is huge! their dna runs through every local dish. - [speaking spanish] - and their ancient ways are still a source of inspiration. - lets let it burn a little bit more, and... - more? - we grind. - im eva longoria,...

they were very sacred to the mayans. they believed that this was a passage to the underworld. ♪ ♪ the maya define the culture of yucatán. as one of the great civilizations in central america, their influence is everywhere. this is huge! their dna runs through every local dish. - [speaking spanish] - and their ancient ways are still a source of inspiration. - lets let it burn a little bit more, and... - more? - we grind. - im eva longoria, born and bred in texas with mexican-americ...

- oh, its cold. its cold. so this is called a cenote. its a natural sinkhole. its very unique to the yucatán peninsula. they were very sacred to the mayans. they believed that this was a passage to the underworld. ♪ ♪ the maya define the culture of yucatán. as one of the great civilizations in central america, their influence is everywhere. this is huge! their dna runs through every local dish. - [speaking spanish] - and their ancient ways are still a source of inspiration. - let...

so this is called a cenote. its a natural sinkhole. its very unique to the yucatán peninsula. they were very sacred to the mayans. they believed that this was a passage to the underworld. ♪ ♪ the maya define the culture of yucatán. as one of the great civilizations in central america, their influence is everywhere. this is huge! their dna runs through every local dish. - [speaking spanish] - and their ancient ways are still a source of inspiration. - lets let it burn a little bit...

- known as the recado king, robertos star of the menu tonight is his black recado. are we doing the spices here? - well, yes. were gonna grind the spices here. - all right. - but actually, were gonna burn the spices here. - ooh! - [laughs] we have onion, oregano, cumin, garlic, annatto seeds, the pepper. - uh-huh. roberto is making his recado negro from scratch... - so if you want to start... - yeah. what do i do? with me as his wingman. we put it in here? - yeah. - oh, my god! [laughter] - good...

[upbeat music] ♪ ♪ - mérida is the capital of yucatán, and its a city that runs on its stomach. hola. [laughs] im here to meet one of méridas best chefs and gastronomic pioneers. - mucho gusto. - mucho gusto. - [speaking spanish] this market sells all the spices that we will need to cook later on in the night. - ok. ok. - so you want to take a look? - yes. - lets go. - i love a spice market. - chef roberto solís is famous for putting a new spin on the foundation of yucatecan cuisine: el ...

- how do you know if it has the right balance? mmm. ooh, that smells great. - yeah. its good. - now, were gonna add... - the orange. - the sour orange. why am i doing all the work here? - [laughs] [speaking spanish] - i dont know how much to put. - [speaking spanish] - then you mix it, no? - yeah. it looks so weird, huh? - no, it looks amazing. - youre like, "yeah." [laughs] - oh, wow. oh, my god. that is so complicated. - [laughs] yes. - lets put this on something. - yes. so first, were gonna g...

- its much smokier. - yes. - no. many of these spices came to the yucatán over 500 years ago, when the region was colonized by the spanish. and you can still see a strong european influence all around mérida. today, people flock to its thriving food scene. twice voted capital of culture, its a magnet for creativity. robertos been at the forefront of that creativity here in mérida and in the yucatán, so lets see what hes up to. robertos restaurant is called huniik, which means "unique spirit"...