Recipes and Ideas
From new and innovative creations to cherished old favourites, we're constantly sharing mouth-watering recipes that will inspire your inner chef. If you have any of your own recipes to share, join us on Instagram @CoolChileCo and become part of our vibrant community.
Recipes
Ceviche tostadas
This ceviche combines the sharpness of lime, the smell of the sea, and the richness of avocado on a crispy corn tostada base, that complements its flavours. Eat as an antojito (snack) with beer or a margarita. Delicious!
View recipe
Mexican chorizo
Mexican chorizo is typically made with pork, but beef or a meat substitute like firm tofu (or tempeh or seitan) work equally well as an alternative. Buy ready minced or grind your own, using equal parts of minced pork belly, neck fillet, shoulder and pork lardo. Use as you would chorizo and remember that a little of this flavoursome, spicy mixture goes a long way!
View recipe
Chiles en nogada
In Mexico they cook these delicious stuffed poblanos called 'chiles en nogada' to celebrate Mexican Independence day on September 15th. The seasonal ingredients used in this festive recipe represent the colours in the Mexican flag: dark green fresh poblanos, creamy white walnuts and red, jewel-like pomegranate seeds. If you can find fresh British walnuts this is a great recipe to use them in. Although the peeling is a little fiddly, it makes all the difference. ¡Viva México! Inspired by Rick Ba...
View recipe
Pork Pozole by Christine McFadden
Pozole is a traditional Mexican soupy stew made with a special type of hard-husked dried white maize (also known as hominy), meat (usually pork), vegetables, chillies and other seasonings, plus the all-important garnishes. The secret of success lies in the rich meat stock. This rich gelatinous stock includes a pig's trotter, which gives it a jelly-like consistency when cold. You can find them in traditional butchers and some large supermarkets. The stock can be stored for 2-3 days in the fr...
View recipe
Pozole – three ways
Pozole is a celebratory broth-y stew that traditionally combines cooked maize kernels with pork and sometimes chicken. It can be served 'verde' (with tomatillos and pumpkin seeds), 'rojo' (with chillies) or 'blanco' (without) and comes with an array of garnishes so you can pimp your bowl. However, pozole doesn’t need to be made with meat: there is a delicious version that combines pinto beans and maize or indeed make pozole verde with vegetable broth, the pumpkin seeds add a lovely richness a...
View recipe
Albóndigas a la Mexicana
The Spanish brought this Moorish influenced dish with them when they conquered Mexico. The meat is poached in the sauce instead of being fried, and it's usually served as a stew with a little rice and corn tortillas to mop up any leftover sauce. Usually meatballs are bound with egg and breadcrumbs, but in this recipe we use raw potato (which makes them soft and tender) and crushed corn chips for extra flavour. Another Mexican trick is to stuff each meatball with a piece of hardboiled egg, an ol...
View recipe
Chilorio de pato by Adam Pawlak
Chilorio is a dish from Sinaloa in northern Mexico in which meat – usually pork, but sometimes beef or chicken – is simmered in an ancho chilli sauce. Adam Pawlak, Head Chef at Taqueria, has created a delicious, richer version substituting duck and using Cascabel chillies instead of Ancho. Chilorio can be used as a filling for tacos and burritos or as a main dish served with white rice, black beans and guacamole.
View recipe
Quick chipotle butterflied leg of lamb with mint sauce
Inspired by Diana Henry. One of our favourite dishes at home is what we call ‘lamb on fire’. My husband, Fred, bones a leg of lamb and marinates it in lots of tasty things. We have a big fireplace in our flat that we can barbecue, so he fires it up and hunkers down with a beer whilst barbecuing the meat to pink perfection. Not everyone has or wants to barbecue in their living room and Diana Henry's recipe for butterflied lamb (in her book 'A Change of Appetite') showed me that you can cook la...
View recipe
Chicken panuchos with pickled pink onions
Panuchos are regional Yucatecan snacks. Handmade small tortillas are cooked, then split and filled with refried black beans. These are then fried, before being topped with lettuce and various other ingredients. The crispy fried tortilla contrasts nicely with the cooling lettuce and sour pickled onions. Add a splash of habanero hot sauce if you want to sweat!
View recipe
Mole Poblano Chicken Taco
Mole Poblano has always played a star role in Mexican Cuisine. It's a dish many Mexicans continue to make for special occasions and parties. By using Cool Chile Mole Poblano Paste you can now rustle up a mole poblano taco in a flash, to make any occasion special.
View recipe
Pambazo
A great way to use up any stale rolls, Pambazo is a Mexican sandwich in which the bread is dipped in guajillo salsa, fried, then stuffed with potato, Mexican chorizo, creme fraiche, salsa, cheese and lettuce. It's a mighty meal in itself and a messy thing to eat so have plenty of kitchen towel at the ready!
View recipe
Mexican Fideos
In Mexico lunch is the main meal and is usually served from 2–4pm in the afternoon. Small restaurants will provide 'comida corrida' which is a set menu of 3–4 courses. Normally you will be served in sequence: sopa aguada (wet soup), sopa seca (dry soup of rice or pasta), plato fuerte (main dish), postre (pudding). Mexican fideos is a favourite sopa seca, but it can also be served as a main meal with salad. Leftovers make mighty fine tacos!
View recipe