It was Hernán Cortés that started it all with his ‘conquest‘ of Mexico and no matter how we feel about the whole sorry saga, the Spanish were responsible  for introducing a huge variety of new and different foodstuffs to the Americas and most of them made a very positive contribution to Mexican cuisine. The Spanish planted olive and walnut trees as well as a plethora of vegetables and introduced beef, pigs, goats and chickens so that butter, cream, eggs and milk made their appearance. Unfortunately the domesticated pig soon

ousted the local wild boar and lamb, but so be it – the important thing, to my mind, is the fact that Mexican food is a mouth watering marriage of the New and the Old world to the Aztec and the Mayan. This base, enriched by the Spanish and Colonial, has created a world class cuisine – simple, healthy and unusual.  In 1519 – 1521 a Spanish Catholic priest, Father Bernadinho Sahagun visited Mexico, fell in love with the huge central market where the unleavened, cornmeal pancakes called tortillas were sold either uncooked or made on griddles, chillies were displayed in every shape and form, tomatoes (both the normal red and the green tomatillo) were crammed between livestock, pulses, piles of fruit and sweet meats and started to document what he saw. Thanks to him we have insight into the food of the day which is why we know that not too much has changed today in Mexico.

Mexican cooking is very regional which is why it would be wise to remember that in the north near Texas, it’s cattle country and not good for corn, so always expect a wheat flour tortilla. Tortilla with roasted kid and salsa verde (made with the tomatillo) is a firm favourite.  Because Mexico is about 7,500 – 8,000 feet above sea level, food and vegetables flourish. Pueblas is famous for crystallized fruits but more famously the Mole Pobalano de Guajolote and we feature that on today’s page. At sea level vegetables like paw paws, pineapples and coconuts abound – the coastline provides fish and shellfish and then in the South the cuisine changes to include herbs and many spices like the famous habanero chilli’s and the barbacoa (the pit filled with heated stones in which food is left to cook) becomes more popular.

OUR FAVOURITE MEXICAN INGREDIENTS

• Avocado’s
• Achiote
• Beans
• Chillies
• Chayote
• Chocolate
• Chorizo
• Cilantro
• Corn
• Guacamole
• Dried Pumpkin Seeds
• Mexican Sugar
• Prickly Pear
• Sorrel
• Tomatilloes

Today we feature a Mexican Menu for your next dinner party. The recipes really aren’t difficult and we tried to stay as close to the typical as ego would allow.

MIXED TOSTADAS

Everyone always does Tortilla’s and just to be different, I thought we could have these for today’s menu – plus they are easier.  They are quite small and you must be careful not to put anything juicy with them as it will ruin it.

Ingredients

• 10 corn tortillas (store purchased or hand made)
• 225 grams mashed red kidney or pinto beans
• 2 large steamed chicken breasts (you could also use left over chicken)
• 225 grams guacamole
• 115 g coarsely grated Cheddar cheese (or a strong Maasdammer)
• 1 washed and dried iceberg lettuce
• A few preserved jalapeño chillies, seeded and sliced finely
• Oil for frying

Method

• Heat the oil and fry the tortilla’s until golden brown and crisp but not hard
• Spread each torilla with a layer of beans, a layer of sliced lettuce and then arrange the chicken before spreading over a layer of guacamole and finally the grated cheese
• Arrange on plates for eating by hand
• This recipe serves about 10 people

PICADILLO

This is not so much Mexican as it is Latin American as it’s commonly used for a variety of dishes.  I have my own recipe that has been influenced by Cuban, Italian and South African cooking and here it is – this is a large amount as it is easily frozen for later use:

Ingredients

• 1,3 kgs lean ground good quality beef
• 1 kg drained fresh tomatoes
• 300 grams finely chopped onion
• 300 grams finely chopped green peppers
• 150 grams green olives, pitted and halved
• 150 grams capers (try and get the capers preserved in salt)
• 100 grams anchovies,
• 4 lemons, zest and juice
• 3 teaspoons cardamom, seeds only (remove the seeds from the pods)
• 7 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 fresh bayleaves (dried if you must)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste (but check carefully because you have the anchovies & capers in already)
• Extra Virgin olive oil

Method

• In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and green pepper until the onions are transparent – transfer the onion mixture to a bowl and set aside.
• Make sure the pot is clean enough for frying and then heat olive oil and brown the ground beef as per my earlier advice;
• In a separate pot, combine the olives, capers, vinegar, salt, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves and cayenne pepper and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
• Spoon the olive and the onion mixture into the pot with the ground beef and all the garlic cloves.
• Add the drained tomatoes and cook for about 40 minutes over medium heat stirring occasionally;

This is Picadillo – an essential ingredient to many Latin American dishes.

Tip:  A handful of raisins and a handful of pine nuts adds a whole new dimension to this but it certainly isn’t Mexican then!

CHIMICHANGAS

Chimichangas are from Sonora, a province of Mexico and are a speciality of that region and this is enough for about 10 people Ingredients

• 10 unbaked flour tortillas
• ½ the above amount of picadillo
• Corn oil for frying

Method

• Spoon about 60 ml of picadillo down the centre of each tortilla;
• Fold in the sides, the bottom and then the top as you would an envelope or use a cocktail stick if it doesn’t work;
• Pour the corn oil into a frying pan and fry the chimichangas, a few at a time for a few minutes until golden;
• Drain on kitchen towels and serve with drinks and garnished with finely sliced carrot and celery sticks.
• Even though this is not normally done, I like to make a little home made wasabi mayonnaise on the side for those that need some extra warmth.

TOMATO SOUP

A very important course on the Mexican table is soup and frankly, if you don’t have soup – it’s not Mexican. Here is a sopa aguada – a wet soup.

Ingredients

• 900 g fresh, peeled tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 475 ml chicken stock
• 2 large handfuls of chopped coriander
• 1 lemon, zest only
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 15 ml corn oil

Method

• Heat the oil in a large pot and stir frequently until the onion is soft, transparent but not brown;
• Add the tomatoes, the onions, half the coriander, and the stock and simmer for about 15 minutes;
• Put everything in a blender or use a hand blender and blend until very smooth and silky;
• Stir in the lemon zest and the fresh coriander;
• For heavens sake, don’t serve anything with it – this is only the second course!
• All good Mexican menus serve a second soup, known as a dry soup which is why I included this relatively simple recipe that will serve about 6 people.

SOPA SECA DE TORTILLA CON CREMA

Ingredients

• 450 g fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• 12 corn tortillas (a day or so old) cut into strips – about 1 cm
• 250 ml double cream
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2,5 ml oregano (dried)
• 200 g grated parmesan cheese
• 120 ml corn oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180 C  and grease baking dish lightly

• Saute onions until just transparent and stir in the tomatoes, cooking them until they are thick, stir in the oregano and set aside;
• Heat the remaining oil and fry the tortillas until they are just lightly golden;
• Pour a layer of tomato sauce and then a layer of the tortilla strips and then a thin layer of cream and then a thin layer of cheese and continue until you have used up everything, ending with a layer of cheese;
• Bake for about 20 minutes until everything is just cooked and soft.

FRIJOLES REFRITOS

These refried beans are delicious even though bitter disagreement exists on exactly how they should be done. Traditionally, lard is used to make this, but I balk at the idea – feel free to do so if you choose. Since most of you are going to use tinned cooked beans, no matter what I say, please check and adjust the seasoning before serving and add the zest of 2 lemons and a generous handful of freshly chopped coriander even though it’s not the classical thing to do.

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 375 grams cooked beans
• 90 ml corn oil

Method

• Saute the onion in the oil until it is soft and then scoop the cooked beans into the pan;
• Mash them with the back of a spoon or masher to form a paste in the pan;
• Pile onto top of a warmed platter and serve with tortilla triangles, loads of freshly grated parmesan or crumbled feta cheese.

Other good salads to use as side dishes on a Mexican table are tomato & avocado, lima beans in sauce, mushrooms with chilli’s and even chayote salad – use pears if you can’t find chayotes

ESTOFADO DE CARNERO

This is a basic lamb stew using an unusual but economical cut of meat, the boneless part of the neck, known as fillet of neck in some countries and seasoned with vibrant spices to create an awesome and unusual taste explosion.

Ingredients

• 950 g boneless lamb – cubed
• 250 ml stock made from the lamb bones
• 450 g fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 dried ancho chillies
• 1 jalapeño chilli, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 60 g seedless raisins
• 60 g pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1 handful chopped coriander leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

• Soak the ancho chillies in a bowl of water (just cover the chillies with water), removing the stems and after 40 minutes, chop very finely or puree in a food processor
• Roast your dry spices first in a dry frying pan;
• Heat olive oil and saute the jalapeño chillies and the onion until transparent;
• Put the chopped tomatoes in the pan with onions and stir fry until the tomatoes have thickened and then stir in the raisins, pine nuts, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and garlic;
• Season with salt and pepper and transfer the mixture to a large saucepan;
• Add the ancho chillies with the water, the lamb and the stock and stir to mix everything very well and simmer gently for ten minutes;
• Turn the heat down and cook over low heat until the lamb is tender;
• Stir in the fresh coriander

Garnish and serve with coriander rice.

CHILLI CON CARNE

Ingredients

• 500g lean minced beef
• 410g can red kidney beans
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , peeled
• 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you only have mild)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 beef stock cube
• 410g can chopped tomatoes
• ½ tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• soured cream and plain boiled long grain rice , to serve

Method

• Warm saucepan to about medium heat and then add the oil –  leave it for 1-2 minutes until hot before adding the onions and cooking  and stirring fairly frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft, squidgy and slightly translucent.
• Add the garlic, the red pepper, the chilli, the paprika and the cumin and give a good stir, then leave it to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Brown the mince: turn the heat up a bit, add the meat to the pan and break it up with your spoon or spatula – the spices should sizzle a bit when you add the mince.
• Keep stirring and prodding for at least 5 minutes, until all the mince is in crumbly there are no more pink bits.
• Make sure you keep the heat hot enough for the meat to fry and become brown, rather than just a grey watery mess.
• Making the sauce. Crumble a stock cube into 300 ml hot water and pour this into the pan with the mince mixture.
• Open the tin of chopped tomatoes and add after which you sprinkle in the marjoram and the sugar, if using (see tip left), and add salt and pepper to taste – put in 2 tbsp of tomato purée and stir into the sauce well.
• Simmer gently by bringing the whole lot to the boil, stirring well and putting a lid on the pan before turning down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it for 20 minutes.
• Check on the pan occasionally to stir it and make sure the sauce doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan or isn’t drying out – if it is, add a couple of tablespoons of water and make sure that the heat really is low enough.
• After simmering gently, the saucy mince mixture should look thick, moist and juicy.
• Drain and rinse the beans in a sieve and stir them into the chilli pot and then bring this to the boil again, and gently bubble without the lid for another 10 minutes, adding a little more water if it looks too dry.
• Taste a bit of the chilli and season – it may take more seasoning than you would have thought.

Now replace the lid, turn off the heat and allow the chilli to stand for 10 minutes before serving

ALMOND BISCUITS

By the time you’ve eaten your way through this lot, you may manage one or two of these with  Café de Olla – but that’s about it.

Ingredients

• 115 g cake flour
• 115 g salted butter
• 175 g icing sugar
• 75 g almonds, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• Icing sugar for dusting

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 C

• Mix the almonds, flour, icing sugar, salt and butter in a bowl and then, work the butter into the mixture to form a smooth ball;
• Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface and using a round cookie cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can;
• Re roll any remaining bits and pieces so that nothing is wasted;
• Put the biscuits onto prepared baking sheets and bake for about 30 minutes until the are golden brown;
• Cool on wire racks and dust with icing sugar and serve with Café de Olla.

CAFÉ DE OLLA

Ingredients

• 1 liter water
• 115 g dark brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 2 cardamom pods
• 3 cloves
• 50 g medium ground dark roasted coffee

Method

• Combine the water, the sugar and the spices in a saucepan;
• Bring to the boil an stir until all the sugar has dissolved;
• Stir in the coffee and boil for about 2 minutes;
• Remove from the heat, cover and steep for 5 minutes or so;
• Strain the coffee through a fine sieve and serve in individual cups;