August 2, 2012
Crank up your summer cooking with a bit of Mexican spice.
Thomasina Miers’s new cookbook Wahaca – Mexican Street Food at Home is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £20.
Here’s a taste of some of the recipes:
‘This spicy ceviche recipe looks very pretty on the plate and is so simple to throw together. Two of its ingredients, soy sauce and sesame oil, are used all over Mexico City, which has much culinary influence from the Orient. The flavours go beautifully with raw fish, creamy avocado and hot fresh chillies. I also love using wild sea trout or very fresh mackerel in this recipe because they are often less expensive and more environmentally friendly than wild or organically farmed salmon,’ says Thomasina Miers of Wahaca.
‘This is our bestselling dish at Wahaca and one of my favourite recipes from Mexico. It comes from the Yucatán and uses two local products: achiote, a spicy paste made from the ground red berries of the annatto tree, which turns the marinade brick red; and the habañero chilli, which gives it a lovely touch of fire. You can buy achiote online or from specialist shops. If you prefer your food not too hot, simply leave the chilli out. We use neck end of pork, which is marbled with delicious fat that melts into the sauce. For the tastiest, most tender pork, marinate it the day before cooking,’ says Thomasina.
‘Don’t be put off by the length of this recipe! It’s the most popular soup in Mexico, and with all the wonderful garnishes you lay on the table, it can make a spectacular starter or lunch. If you can’t get hold of every chilli, stick to the chipotle, or simply throw in a couple of fresh chillies and some smoked paprika instead. But if you can make the effort to find the guajillo and ancho chillies, it’s worth it for the deep, intense flavour they provide,’ says Thomasina.
‘This is one of our favourite specials at Wahaca. It is adapted from a breakfast I once enjoyed at a specialty bean market in a little town outside Mexico City. The broad beans were cooked and pureed and stuffed into various wraps, then griddled and drizzled with salsas, crema and lettuce. Served in quesadillas, our version is light, fresh, easy to make and really tastes of summer,’ says Thomasina.
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