Mexican Feast: Spicy Sweetcorn Recipe
The first course in our Mexican Feast was one of my favourites, It’s best done on the BBQ but works just as well on the griddle pan or under the grill.
How long you cook the sweetcorn for will depend on the size of your sweetcorn and how hot your pan is. There is a very similar recipe in the Mexican Food Made Simple book too.
spicy corn on the cob
Ingredients
- 1 Corn on the cob per person.
- Small knob of butter, per person.
- Pinch of paprika per person
- Pinch of chilli powder or chilli flakes per person.
- Pinch of lime zest per person
- Teaspoon of lime juice per person.
- Salt and pepper
- Heat your griddle pan up so it’s smoking hot, place corn on and cook until it goes golden and shiny or starts to pop, keep turning so that it’s cooked all round.
- Melt the butter in another pan and add the chilli, paprika, lime zest and lime juice and a little salt and pepper, stir well.
- Once the corn is cooked drizzle the butter over the corn and enjoy.
Mexican Feast: Citrus Fizz Recipe
Inspired by last week’s trip to Wahaca in Covent Garden I decided to cook up Mexican feast using my Mexican Food Made Simple Book. I will post the recipes up over the next couple of days but I’m staring with this one in which I tried to re create the drink I had at Wahaca. While It doesn’t contain chilli it goes great with spicy food and is really refreshing. I guess if you wanted to add some heat it would work with a bit of ginger and maybe even a slice of chilli.
If I’m honest it wasn’t quite as good as the one I had in London, It wasn’t quite as minty, so if anyone has any tips for getting more flavour from the mint then please let me know.
You could also always sweeten it up with a little bit of sugar or sugar syrup but I didn’t think it needed it.
Ingredients for 1 Citrus Fizz
- 2 limes
- Few sprigs of mint.
- 300ml fizzy water.
- Ice cubes
Method
- Roll the limes on a chopping board, squeezing gently, this helps you get more juice out, cut the limes in half and squeeze the juice out into a glass, slice the left over lime skin into 4, set 2 pieces aside and bin the other 2.
- Pick the mint leaves from the stems and tear into the glass, gently bash up with a spoon.
- Add some ice to the glass and bash up again.
- Add the 2 lime slices followed by the water, give it a good stir then enjoy.
Wahaca, Covent Garden.
I won’t beat about the bush, Wahaca is somewhere I’ve wanted to go ever since I head Thomasina Miers of Masterchef and Mexican Food Made Simple had opened her first Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately for me all of the restaurants are situated in London which is something like 260 miles away and not somewhere I go to very often.
Chicken guajillo Tostadas
Luckily there is once a year when I try to make the effort to get to that there London to sample the many beers at the Great British Beer Festival. So after a day (and night) of drinking on Tuedsay and a rather warm night’s sleep in the Easy Hotel at Earls Court, I set off in search of Wahaca in Covent Garden.
It was a baking hot day and the air was claggy and moist so the cool airy basement setting of Wahaca was a welcome break, the size of the place too me by surprise, It was like a rabbit warren much bigger on the inside than it looked from the street.
The decor was great, nice and relaxed, plenty of colour and attention to detail, topped off with a nice atmosphere, It was just after 12 and there was already a few people sat chatting away.
The friendly staff greeted me we a smile and showed me to my table, just tucked out of the way but with a great view of the bar, the waitress explained a little bit about the menu for me before giving me enough time to decide on what I was going to have.
Choosing just what to have was almost impossible, while the menu isn’t massive it is very well thought out and I would have happily eaten just about everything on the menu. The menu it’s self is divided up into Street Food, which are smaller portions allowing you to choose a couple of different dishes to try, Platos fuertes, which are bigger portions, more like traditional restaurant food, then of course there’s a range of sides and deserts. All of these can be accompanied by a large range of Tequilla, various Mexican beers and an interesting range of soft drinks.
In the end after much deliberation I went for Pork Pibil Tacos, Chicken Guajillo Tostadas and a glass of Citrus Fizz. The Citrus Fizz was just what I needed after the events the day before and was the perfect refresher on a hot summers day, not to sweet or sour and with just the right amount of mint, I could have sat and drank pints of the stuff.
Pork pibil Tacos
The Chicken Guajillo Tostadas arrived first along with some cool fresh salsa and a firey yellow dip, they were just as described on the menu, 2 crisp tortillas piled high with succulent marinated chicken, salad, avocado and pumpkin seeds. They were packed full of flavour and had just a tiny bit of heat so after demolishing the first one I added a splash of the Fuego Maya hot sauce that was on the table and a dollop of the yellow dip to the second, this added an extra dimension and added that little bit of extra zing that I was looking for.
A few minutes after finishing the Tostadas my Pork Pibil Tacos arrived, they smelled and looked amazing, 3 small soft corn tortillas topped with soft, succulent strings of pulled pork coated in a lovely smokey and extremely moreish sauce. I had cleared my plate in no time. Absolutely delicious. I was very tempted to order a 3rd dish when I spotted the Taquitos and Quesadillas on the next table but decided not to be greedy and ask for the bill instead.
My total bill came to just under £10 (£3.95 each for the Pork Pibil and Chicken Guajillo and then £1.50 for the Citrus Fizz) which I think was very well priced, the quality was fantastic, the quantity just right and the service spot on. The bill came accompanied by a little packet of chilli seeds on sticks for easy planting, a lovely little touch which certainly beats mint imperials and cheap chocolates you usually get in places, although it would have been nice if it had the variety of chilli on the packet.
The only things I’d change about my visit would be that I’d have liked the option of a pint or jug of the Citrus Fizz, a couple of different beers…maybe a nice hoppy IPA or dark malty stout and maybe the option of being able to buy some of the awesome yellow sauce or a bottle of the Fuego Maya hot sauce but they are minor things.
If you’re in London and haven’t tried Wahaca then It is definitely worth a visit, now I just wish they would open one up here.
You can visit the Wahaca Website here or follow @wahaca on twitter
Spicy Chickpea and Mushroom Burger Recipe
This is a bit of a work in progress but I thought I would share it in case any of the vegetarians out there could give me any tips on getting it to bind together a bit better. I did think an egg would would but not sure if I like the idea of egg in my burger…fried egg on top is a different story though.
Great flavour but a bit crumbly.
I couldn’t resist topping mine with a big dollop of Mr Vikkis Chilli Jam, more about that in another post.
Anyway here’s how it went.
Ingredients
- 5 large chestnut mushrooms, finely diced
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped
- zest and juice of half a lemon
- 250g chickpeas, drained.
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 chilli, finely diced
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- small handfull of fresh coriander
- pinch of chilli powder
- salt
- pepper
- Olive oil
- Tortilla chips
- Buns, chutney and salad to serve with.
Method
- Pre heat oven to 200 degrees!
- Place a couple of handfuls of tortilla chips in a blender and blend until they look like breadcrumbs, you can leave them a bit chunkier if you wish. Tip into a Bowl
- Heat a splash of olive oil on a pan then add the garlic, chilli, onion and mushrooms, fry until soft, add the lemon zest and juice followed by the paprika, cumin, ground coriander and chilli powder. Stir well, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Blend the drained chickpeas until you have a rough paste, add a little olive oil as you go so it’s not too dry.
- Add the mushroom mix, a table spoon of the crushed tortillas and some fresh coriander to the chickpeas and mix well, season with salt and pepper.
- Shape the mixture into 2 burgers, then coat the burgers with the remaining crushed tortillas.
- Bake the burgers in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until piping hot and nice and crispy
- Place in lightly toasted bun with your chosen toppings and enjoy!
Levens Hall Chilli Festival 2011
Set against the spectacular backdrop of Elizabethan Levens Hall, the fourth Lakes Chilli Fest will be held on Saturday and Sunday the 13th and 14th of August 2011. Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m on both days, visitors to the Chilli Fest can also explore the world famous gardens with its distinctive topiary, herbaceous borders, rose garden, fountain garden, ornamental vegetables, herb garden and orchard.
There will be over fifty stalls displayed in the grounds at the front of the Hall offering chilli-related goods such as jams, jellies, chocolate and sweets, ice-cream, sauces, seeds, plants, chutneys, clothing, breads, oils, cordials etc. with many items produced by Cumbrian businesses.
Last year over 8,000 people visited the Chilli Fest which provides entertainment for all the family. There will be live music on both days from the Milnthorpe Steel Band. Paul Garbonzo from America – fire eater, juggler and all round entertainer extraordinaire will be performing on both days too.
Phil & Helen plus members from Salsa North West will demonstrate and encourage participation in Salsa Dancing, and if this is too vigourous then visitors can try out the game of Croquet or simply relax in the magnificent surroundings and soak up the atmosphere. There will be a chilli trail in the garden, face painting by Janet Allen and other games for children run by the gardening team, together with all the other attractions that these unique gardens offer such as the children’s adventure playground and the willow labyrinth.
There will be a varied and entertaining programme of cookery demonstrations and talks on both days – all with a Chilli twist.
Further details and images are available on www.levenshall.co.uk
Entry for the the 4th Lakes Chilli Fest is £10 (cash only) per adult which includes entry to the famous topiary gardens. For this special event children are FREE. No dogs please except assistance dogs.
Jamie Oliver Chilli, Rosemary, Garlic and Herb Crust
A couple of weeks ago I noticed the tubs of Jamie Oliver Crust on offer in Morrisons, £3 for 2 tubs. They both contained chilli so I thought it would be rude not to give them a try.
Spicy, packed full of flavour but a bit too much garlic
Basically the crust is breadcrumbs flavoured with various herbs and spices, in this case it was Chilli, Rosemary, Garlic and Herb. On opening the tub I knew it was going to be packed full of flavour as I could instantly smell the garlic and rosemary. The crumbs looked like a nice texture, with a mix of bigger and smaller chunks, there were flecks of red chilli and bits of rosemary mixed throughout the crunchy golden crumb.
I rubbed a little bit of olive oil onto two chicken breasts, then pressed a good amount of the crumb all over, it seemed to stick quite well and coated all of the chicken. I sprinkled a little more on the top of each breast for good measure and then put them in the oven for 30mins.
While they were cooking I knocked up some spuds and veg to go with it and roast a few cherry tomatoes as that was suggested on the back of the pack.
After 30mins the crumb had browned nicely and to my surprise hadn’t burned, I’m always a little wary of packet bread crumbs as they either seem to go soggy or burn…maybe that’s just me.
The chicken it’s self had stayed incredibly moist and was cooked perfectly, the crumb was crispy all round, it hadn’t even gone soggy on the bottom of the chicken, so it gave a lovely crunch as you bit into it.
As predicted it was full of flavour, the predominant flavour was the garlic, if anything it was a little over powering, once that had died down the rosemary came through with a little woody sweetness and then the chilli flavour came in before leaving a little burn at the back of your throat.
The heat leaves surprised me a lot, it was rather fiery and it certainly built up as I devoured the chicken, It was incredibly moreish despite the garlic and in no time at all it was all gone.
So I am pleased to report I would buy the Chilli Rosemary, Garlic and Herb Crust again, I’m even going to try it on some fish and maybe some lamb and will let you know how I get on.
Mexican food made simple by Thomasina Miers
Last night the new series of Mexican food made simple started on channel 5, featuring non other than Masterchef 2005 winner Thomasina Miers.
Warning, contains serioulsy moreish recipes!
Since winning the competition Thomasina has gone on to open a successful chain of Mexican restaurants called Wahaca and presented some really interesting cooking shows on TV.
The latest of which is Mexican food made simple, which judging from the first program is going to be a cracking series, but that’s what I was expecting and hoped for after reading and cooking from the book that accompanies the series.
I’m not sure how long I’ve had the book but I did buy it when it was first released and have since cooked my way through quite a lot of it.
The recipes range from really quick and easy to ones that require a little bit more effort. At first I was a little worried about sourcing some of the ingredients not having a really good deli round here, but a lot of them can be bought from supermarket or from the Internet, for those that are hard to find alternatives are often suggested so you don’t have to miss out.
The recipes are nice and easy to follow and really well written, there’s a great range of starters, fresh and zingy salads and even desserts to keep you coming back for more and the recipes I’ve tried have been delicious, especailly the spicy summer tacos, mexican breakfast and spicy steak and mushroom sandwich. The recipes I’ve tried have been easy to up/down scale for more or less people and the spice levels can also be easily adjusted to make them spicer or less spicy if you wish.
It retails for around £20 but can be found a lot cheaper if you hunt around, It’s well worth adding to your collection if you like mexican inspired food or just fancy a change.
If you want to watch the show it’s on Channel 5 at 19:30 on Tuesday nights or if you have missed an episode you can watch them here
Hotel Chocolat – Chilli Chocolaet Glaze
I saw this chilli chocolate glaze while I was in Hotel Chocolat in York, It had been reduced to £1.50 as it had a short use by date so I decided to give it whirl.
A little bit too bitter
The packet promises that the glaze will turn any poultry or fish into a hedonistic cacao-fest ,using a combination of Guajillo and Ancho chillis added to unsweetened 96% cacao. The recipe on the back of the pack suggested using it with Tuna and sweet potato, I decided to keep the sweet potato but substitute the tuna for chicken.
The glaze it’s self is like grated chocolate which you can see a few of the spices in, I added a bit to the chicken at the end and let it cook out for a little bit.
The chocolate clung to the chicken really well with only a little bit leaking out into the pan, if I am honest I found the glaze far to bitter and lacking any other real flavour. It was a little bit gutted as I had expected a bitter sweet chocolate flavour and then a bit of a chilli kick somewhere in there but there wasn’t any, just dark, rich, bitter chocolate, it was left my mouth feeling really dry too.
Don’t get me wrong I love dark chocolate and bitter food and drink but this was just to bitter.
It might work quite well in Chilli con carne to add a bit of depth but other than that I’m struggling to think of ways to use it up.
If you haven’t got a Hotel Chocolat near by, you can buy it online here,
Spicy Prawn Curry Recipe
This is a beefed up version of the curry I used in some prawn puri that I made a few weeks ago, while the puri were a huge success the curry was without doubt the star of the show so here’s the recipe, I will post the bread recipe at some point too.
Serves 4
Rich and spicy mmmmm
Ingredients
- 1 Packet of raw king prawns, butterflied
- 1 green pepper, sliced.
- 1 onion sliced.
- few chestnut mushrooms, sliced.
- 1 tbsp tumeric
- 200ml coconut milk
- 2 large tomatoes, de seeded and finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed,
- 3cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated,
- 1 red chilli, de seeded and finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, de seeded and finely chopped
- 1 lime
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground corriander
- 3 tsp chilli powder.
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 handful of corriander leaves, chopped.
- olive or vegetable oil.
- 1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
- Rice to serve
Method
- Coat the prawns in Turmeric and set aside.
- Heat a splash of oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when they start to pop, add the chillis, mushroom, pepper and onion, fry until soft.
- Add the Garlic and ginger and fry for a few minutes until cooked through.
- Add the rest of the spiced and cook for a few minutes, add the tomatoes and cook until soft,
- Add the coconut milk and stir through, cook for 5-10 mins or until the sauce has thickened
- Add the prawns to the pan and stir well, cover with a lid and cook until the prawns are pink, don’t over do it as you don’t want to turn them into rubber bullets.
- I know some people like their curry a little bit sweeter so if that’s you add the sugar and stir through.
- At the last minute stir in some coriander leaves.
- Serve with rice and a squirt of lime juice.
Picante Tortilla Recipe
I’ve been meaning to have a crack at a Spanish omelette or Tortilla for ages and finally got round to it tonight.
All the quantities are kind of estimates as I just used what I had to hand, It was great warm but even better cold.
If you are of the vegetarian persuasion you can leave the chorizo out and add a pinch or two of smoked paprika and some crushed garlic.
Ingredients
- 1 white onion, sliced
- handful of new potatoes
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 1 picante chorizo, diced,
- 1 red chilli, sliced
- 1 green chilli, sliced
- handful grated mature cheddar
- handful of grated parmesan
- 2tsp oregano
- knob of butter
- 5 button mushrooms (or a few more if you like), sliced
- 6 large fresh free range eggs, beaten
- salt,
- pepper
Method
- Boil the new potatoes in water until soft, leave to cool, then roughly chop.
- Heat a large frying pan, add the chorizo until crispy, if lots of fat comes out you may want to drain it now.
- Add the potatoes and a knob of butter, fry until the potatoes are crispy round the edge.
- Add the onion, pepper, mushroom, chilli and herbs, fry until the veg is soft.
- Season with salt and pepper
- Add the beaten eggs, making sure it spreads evenly throughout the pan.
- Cook for a few minutes until it starts to stiffen up
- Top with the cheese and place under the grill until the cheese has melted.
- Serve with Salad.