4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 chipotle chilli/chile in adobo sauce
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 x 400-g/14-oz. cans black or pinto beans, drained
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
fine sea salt
Serves 6–8
Heat a ridged stove-top griddle/grill pan until hot. Cook the garlic and tomatoes over high heat for 3–5 minutes until charred, then let cool. When cool, slip the garlic cloves out of their skins. Put the garlic, tomatoes, chilli/chile, cumin and beans in a blender and work to a coarse purée.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the bean mixture and cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt. Serve hot.
2 ripe avocados, peeled, stoned/pitted and chopped
2–3 tablespoons sour/soured cream
juice of ½ lemon
1 small bunch of coriander/cilantro, finely chopped
a pinch of ground cumin
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 small chilli/chile, green or red (optional)
Serves 4–6
Put the avocados in a small bowl and mash to a coarse paste using a fork.
Stir in the sour/soured cream, lemon juice, coriander/cilantro, cumin, salt and chilli/chile, if using.
Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt or lemon juice, as desired.
950 g/2 lbs. 2 oz. ripe tomatoes
1 large onion, thickly sliced
4 green chillies/chiles
1 small bunch of fresh coriander/cilantro
a pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
fine sea salt, to season
Serves 4–6
Heat a ridged stove-top griddle/grill pan over a high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion and chillies/chiles and cook for 3–5 minutes on each side until charred all over.
Put the onion, tomatoes, chillies/chiles and coriander/cilantro in a blender and work to a coarse purée. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the sugar, lime juice and season with salt. Chill until needed, then serve this and the Guacamole at room temperature.
Note: These three dips make delicious nibbles when served with oven-warmed corn tortillas, or with the Baked Tortilla Chips (see page 100).
500 g/1 lb. 2 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons chipotle chilli/chili paste
¾ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
TO SERVE
12 flour or corn tortillas, warmed
½ romaine lettuce, shredded
1 bunch of radishes, sliced
½ red onion, sliced
150 ml/⅔ cup sour/soured cream
200 g/7 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Serves 3–4
Place the chicken in a small saucepan with 1 litre/quart water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Skim the froth from the top if necessary. Remove the pan from the heat. Lift the chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Pour the broth into a separate bowl and reserve for later. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into small pieces.
In the now-empty saucepan, place 20 g/2 tablespoons of the onion, the tomatoes and garlic and 500 ml/2 cups water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, discard the water and let cool. Once cooled, place in a blender with the chipotle paste, white pepper, paprika and salt and blend until smooth.
Take the saucepan again and heat the oil, then add the remaining chopped onion. Sauté for 1 minute, then add the shredded chicken and the mixture from the blender and cook for another minute. Add 125 ml/½ cup of the reserved chicken broth and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
To serve, place a generous spoonful of chicken tinga on top of each warmed tortilla. Top up with the lettuce, radishes, red onion, sour/soured cream and finally the crumbled feta cheese.
vegetable oil, for brushing
1 teaspoon chilli/chili powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 corn on the cob/ears of corn
60 g/¼ cup mayonnaise or unsalted butter
65 g/½ cup crumbled Cotija, Parmesan or ricotta salata cheese
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
Serves 8
Preheat a grill/broiler to medium-high and brush the rack with oil. Combine the chilli/chili powder and cayenne in a small bowl.
Grill/broil the corn for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally with tongs, until cooked through and lightly charred. Remove from the grill/broiler and brush each cob/ear with 1½ teaspoons of mayonnaise or butter. Sprinkle each with a tablespoon of cheese and a pinch of the chilli/chili-cayenne mixture. Squeeze a lime wedge over each cob/ear and serve.
Alternatively, remove the corn kernels from the cobs/ears, after taking them off the grill/broiler, and combine the corn with the mayonnaise or butter and the cheese. Top with the chilli/chili-cayenne mixture and a squeeze of lime juice.
1.2 kg/2 lbs. 10 oz. bonless pork, with fat, shoulder or leg, cut into chunks
juice of 3–4 oranges
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
a pinch of ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
300 g/1½ cups cooked rice
4–6 large flour tortillas
180 g/1⅔ cups grated/shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
vegetable oil, for oiling
freshly ground black pepper, to season
CHILLI/CHILI PURÉE
3 dried ancho chillies/chiles, deseeded
1 onion, coarsely chopped
60 ml/¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Serves 4–6
Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF) Gas 6.
Combine the pork, orange juice, garlic, salt, allspice and cumin in a large casserole dish. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 1½–2 hours, uncovered, until tender. Let cool, cover and refrigerate until needed.
To prepare the chilli/chile purée, soak the chillies/chiles in boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove the chillies/chiles and reserve the liquid. Remove the stems from the chillies/chiles and put them in a food processor with the onion, vinegar, oregano, cumin, salt and 375 ml/1½ cups of the soaking liquid. Blend until a smooth paste.
Remove the pork from the casserole dish and reserve the cooking liquid. Using your hands, or two forks, separate the meat from the fat and shred the meat. Remove any fat from the surface of the cooking liquid and return it to the casserole dish with the shredded meat. Stir in the rice and chilli/chile purée. Simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Divide the pork mixture between the tortillas and sprinkle with the grated/shredded cheese. Fold in the sides of each tortilla to cover the filling, then roll up. Place the filled tortillas seam-side down on an oiled baking sheet or in a shallow dish. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 10–15 minutes just to warm through and melt the cheese. Serve hot.
lime wedge and sea salt flakes, for the glass rim
50 ml/1⅔ fl. oz. Ocho Blanco Tequila
25 ml/¾ fl. oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
25 ml/¾ fl. oz. Cointreau
ice cubes
Makes 1
Rub the outer rim of a chilled margarita glass with the lime wedge. Dip the glass rim into the sea salt flakes, so that the salt remains on the outside of the glass. Add the rest of the drink ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and shake hard. Double strain into the salt-rimmed margarita glass.
Who’s for margaritas with your señoritas (and hombres)? While you’re chippin’ and dippin’, do some cocktail sippin’. Ask Alexa to crank up Alan Jackson’s ‘Mexico, Tequila and Me’ as you play bartender to mix your gasping guests these tequila-tastic treats. Encourage them to sip and sing while the country music legend tells them of his plans to ‘take a three-day breather, sip a margarita’ and ‘drift away beside the sea’.
45 ml/1½ fl. oz. Ocho Reposado Tequila
60 ml/2 fl. oz. fresh orange juice
15 ml/½ fl. oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
10 ml/2 teaspoons simple sugar syrup
10 ml/2 teaspoons egg white
5 ml/1 teaspoon yuzu juice
a pinch of sea salt
ice cubes
15 ml/½ fl. oz. Pomegranate, Port and Chipotle Reduction (see Note)
TO GARNISH
orange zest
maraschino cherry and a cocktail stick/toothpick
Makes 1
Add all the drink ingredients (except the reduction) to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass over cubed ice. Add the reduction over the top of the drink, to give the ‘sunrise’ look. Carefully peel a long strip of orange zest to garnish with an orange zest and cherry ‘flag’, as pictured.
Note: To make the Pomegranate, Port & Chipotle Reduction, add 500 ml/2 cups freshly squeezed pomegranate juice and 500 ml/2 cups ruby port to a saucepan and simmer for about 45 minutes until reduced by half. Next, add 500 g/2½ cups light brown muscovado/packed light brown sugar and 2 teaspoons chipotle chilli/chili powder and stir until dissolved. Store in a sealed bottle in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
