Passport & Plate - My (sort-of) Mexican meal
Mexico | Friday, February 27, 2015 | 5 photos
For the Salsa:
4 Beef tomatoes, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
1/4 red onion,finely chopped
A large pinch of fresh coriander
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Guacamole:
2 medium avocados
4 cherry tomatoes, finely chopped,
1/4 red onion,finely chopped
A large pinch of fresh coriander
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Fajita filling:
1 tablespoon of cumin
1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 red onion, roughly chopped
3 peppers
3 medium carrots
1 x 400g chopped tomato
1x 400g black beans
1 teaspoon of chipotle paste
A large pinch of fresh coriander
Juice of 1/2 lime
Spinach, sour cream and cheese (optional)
For the Salsa:
Use a pestle and mortar to mix together the garlic, chilli, onion, coriander and lime juice. The pestle and mortar does a great job of releasing and blending the flavours. Then, add the finely chopped tomatoes to the pestle and mortar mix. Finally, add salt and pepper to suit your taste.
For the Guacamole:
Again, Use a pestle and mortar to mix together the finely chopped tomato, onion, garlic, coriander and lime juice. Then, cut the avocados into quarters and add them to the mix one by one. Mix until it becomes close to smooth. Finally, add salt and pepper to suit your taste.
Add oil to a large frying pan, and when hot, add the onion. As the onion starts to soften, add the spices. After 3-5 minutes add the pepper and carrots. Once they are covered in the spices, add the beans, chopped tomatoes and chipotle paste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Finally, add the lime juice and coriander, and heat for 2 more minutes.
To serve:
Spread a layer of sour cream on a fajita. Lay a bed of spinach, then add the fajita filing. Dollop on some guacamole and salsa, and cheese if you like. Wrap it up and enjoy!
This is a meal that will always remind me of family and home, one that transports me back instantly to memories held from Mexico. The meal my mother will walk through the door and smell and smile, her favourite meal and mine. Though it is not strictly 'Mexican' as my auntie who has now lived there for 40 years will tell us, it is the flavours and aroma of the meal that will always make us call it so.
An easy dish that is made almost weekly in my house is most definitely a crowd pleaser, a reliable one we can't move away from. It is for this reason that on returning home from a year and a half living in Hong Kong and Peru, my mother knew it was right to assume it was most definitely a dish I would be so excited to come home to! Walking back into our home with that smell being the first thing that got me, I couldn't of felt happier. It is a dish that come rain or shine we depend on to make us happy!
Mexico being so far away means that it is rare that we have the opportunity to visit our three cousins there, so the moments we have together are few and far between. Having been able to visit last year refreshed my love for every dish they have. From the fish tacos, to the chocolate bean stew, cactus leaves, and oh my the avocados that were unlike any elsewhere in the world! The trip was a festival of flavours. When the last day of our trip came it was time for a BBQ that took the whole day to prepare, which offered so many opportunities for me to learn new tricks and techniques of the cuisine my auntie has now mastered. A special day for so many reasons, we were certainly more than hungry when dinner time finally rolled around, making every flavour a treat for our tongues. Though the spread was spectacular it is the guacamole I will always remember, and one I try every week to emulate, and I think I'm close!
For this reason we seek to take our tastebuds back to those times as often as possible, and if you try the recipe it is such a treat, I hope you like it too!
