Recipes and Ideas

Yucatan Mushroom Tacos

The Yucatan paste adds a super zingy fresh flavour to this veggie tortilla option. It can be served up for a small lunch for 2 (or it can be added to a table fest with lots of other things)

Butternut squash and Goats Cheese Flautas with Mole

Flautas are long thin, rolled up corn tortillas, aptly named “flautas” in reference to their flute-like shape. They can be filled with a variety of savory fillings, shredded chicken, beef, beans or like in this case with roasted vegetables. Flautas are shallow fried until crispy and golden brown, they are so incredibly mooreish and a favorite “antojito", or craving in Mexico. Makes:10 flautas Preparation time: 20 min

OX Cheek Ancho Barbacoa Tacos by Karla Zazueta

This is the perfect recipe for a Sunday gathering with friend or family. Using ox cheek is a wonderful idea, as it is an inexpensive cut full of flavour.

Corn Tortillas with Pasilla Chilli Flakes by Karla Zazueta

These delicious tortillas are perfect for making barbacoa tacos. The pasilla flakes give a nice earthy flavour to the corn tortilla.

Tetelas with Refried Beans & Ricotta By Karla Zazueta

Tetelas are delicious triangular antojitos (little nibbles) made from masa dough. They are very popular in the south of Mexico. Typically stuffed with refried beans, they make a wonderful starter for a Mexican dinner or lunch.

Chile Ancho Chilaquiles & Refried Black Beans By Karla Zazueta

One of the most famous and loved Mexican breakfasts, chilaquiles are these deep-fried pieces of stale corn tortilla, smothered with a nice salsa and garnished with cheese, sour cream, onion and fresh coriander. There are two popular versions, red or green chilaquiles, but our recipe is made with an ancho chilli sauce, which give these chilaquiles a delicious twist, perfect for a special occasion.

Pescado a la Talla by Karla Zazueta

This super delicious fish recipe is from the state of Guerrero in the south of Mexico. Chilli adobo is rubbed on butterflied fish and grilled over charcoal for maximum flavour. Our recipe uses seabass and our Ancho in Adobo Marinade, which gives a wonderful deep flavour. The fish can be eaten like a taco with different toppings or as a main dish with some roasted baby potatoes and green salad. An amazing dish for special occasions!

Green Salsa Chicken Tamales by Karla Zazueta

A simple tomatillo chicken tamal recipe that one must know how to make. For the vegetarian option, replace the chicken for more spinach and halloumi cheese and chicken stock for vegetable stock.

Champurrado by Karla Zazueta

Champurrado is hot chocolate thickened with a little masa harina. Not only does it give a satisfying flavour to the chocolate but thickens it ever so slightly making it perfect to dip sweet bread into.

Achiote Pork (puerco pibil)

Puerco Pibil (also known as Cochinita Pibil), is a slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The marinade usually consists of citrus juices flavoured with achiote (ground annatto seeds), which gives the slow roasted meat its characteristic colour. Delicious served in tacos.

Roadside Chicken with grilled green onions

One of the best street food offerings in Mexico is Roadside Chicken, simply marinated and cooked slowly over coals for a juicy flavoursome bird, perfect for tucking into toasty corn tortillas, anointing with salsa and serving with grilled green onions. The chicken is spatchcocked so that it cooks evenly. Serve family-style by placing in the middle of the table and let everyone make their own tacos. This recipe can also be cooked on a rotisserie spit or in the oven too.

Stuffed Ancho Chillies by Karla Zazueta

Stuff it! Stuff em! Anchos are dried poblanos and although poblanos are more commonly stuffed the ancho makes a tasty, rich vehicle for picadillo, mincemeat Mexican style-y. To make veggie replace the minced meat with finely chopped mushrooms.

Tacos Al Pastor

Traditionally grilled on a vertical spit, similar to a shwarma or gyro, Tacos Al Pastor is one of Mexico’s most famous – and tastiest – street foods. Although pork is traditional, chicken can also be also used – the key is the secret sauce it's marinaded in.

Quesabirria with Broth by Kristina Urbonaite

Birria is one of the most popular Mexican dishes and for good reason. It's amazing flavour and appetising looks are superb. Birria is usually cooked with lamb or goat meat. However, it can also be made from beef or a combination of all three. This is what makes it so popular, there are so many ways to make it, just how you like! On this occasion, we have created an exciting dish lamb that won’t go unnoticed. The Quesabirria with Broth is a mouth-watering choice for any time of the year.

Blackberry Tequila Sour

Fresh berry infused, this classic cocktail is on another level.

Chiles Rellenos

Classic Mexican dish, made from poblano peppers stuffed with cheese, coated with eggs, deep-fried and served with Ranchero salsa. In this recipe we will use our own made Ranchero salsa, however you can always make your own.

Spicy Habanero wings by Kristina Urbonaite

Classic wings recipe with a spicy twist.

Hibiscus iced tea by Kristina Urbonaite

Sweet cranberry-like tasting iced tea, that is just too easy to make. In this recipe we are using baking soda to reduce the bitterness, as boiling water releases the tannins of tea and makes it bitter. Alternatively, you can brew tea overnight with cold water.

Ancho Chilli Chicken Tamales by Karla Zazueta

This is a special recipe, perfect for special occasions. The chicken is cooked with an ancho chilli sauce that gives the dish a rich and deep flavour, then the tamal dough is flavoured with chicken stock to make it extra tasty. If you want to make this a vegetarian option, you can substitute the lard for vegetable shortening, we like to use Trex and the chicken stock for vegetable stock. Swap the chicken for fried strips of portobello mushrooms or better yet enoki mushrooms which fit perfectly...

Jalapeno Cheese Balls

Jalapeno Cheese Balls make a perfect side dish and also looks great on your snack/cheese platter. You can make it from any leftover cheese in your fridge when having unexpected guests in your house.

Pea-a-mole

Peas instead of avocados for a version of guacamole. Avocados are not that sustainable right now; air miles, deforestation and drug cartels muscling in on farmers who's profits soar as the world demand for avocados goes through the roof. We can all take a little break from the avocado and try to use a local ingredient instead, in this case the pea! It is green and can mash similarly to the avocado. When you add the other guacamole ingredients, it can also taste very similar too. It does lack the...

Buñuelos de Viento

Buñuelos de viento which literally translates into “wind fritters”. They are lacy and shaped like a rosette and are served at Christmas time in Mexico with a hot cup of coffee. These are made using a rosette iron mould, which is dipped into hot oil, then batter and then dipped back in the hot oil to fry. The fritters are then dipped in cinnamon sugar. Although they look fairly sturdy they are in fact hollow at the back so that make a light, crisp, sweet treat (see the bottom picture).

Salsa de Tomatillo Tatemada - charred tomatillo salsa

Roasted and charred fresh tomatillos and jalapeños make for heavenly salsa flecked with black bits of skin, it is smoky and delicious. Our preferred method for roasting is a hot pan on the stove and complete charring can be accomplished by using a blow torch to get into all the nooks and crannies. Plus there is an amazing smell when flame makes the chile skin go snap, crackle and pop. Roasting concentrates the flavours and natural sugars in the vegetables as they lose water when cooking. To max...

Cajeta Cream Cheese Brownie Tart

This is a a traditional brownie mix with cajeta cream cheese mix swirled on to the top and baked in a loose bottom fluted tart tin. We like the scalloped edged and the fact that when cut everyone gets an edge and middle to their piece of tart. This is also really good cold, so can be made the day before and served the next day for a gathering. Inspired by Estaban Castillo from Chicano Eats

Masa Harina Cornbread Muffins

These handy to grab, Masa Harina cornbread muffins are made mostly with masa harina with a little bit of flour to help them rise and a touch of cornmeal for grit. Perfect with carne con chile, ribs or mole de la olla. If you like your cornbread muffins a little sweet, we have a great glaze that uses butter, Nixta Corn Liqueur (which is made from nixtamalised corn for extra nixtamlised corn flavour) and golden syrup - just pour over when still warm and it makes a lovey sticky glaze.

Chamoy BBQ Sauce

Chamoy! Tart, sweet, salty and spicy, made into a smoky barbecue sauce with Chile Pasilla de Oaxaca, vinegar and garlic- perfect for ribs, chicken or fish.

Yucatan Michelada Ribs

Ribs rubbed with Yucatan Seasoning Paste and braised in beer, tomato juice and all the Michelada fixings, make for tasty, tender and moist ribs. As a party dish this is handy to cook the day before, then on the day, paint with BBQ sauce and throw on the barbecue or grill to re heat, get sticky and tasty. Continuing with the Michelada theme we have made a Chamoy BBQ Sauce - tart, sweet, salty and spicy.

Chocoflan with burnt sugar caramel

Chocoflan, also called 'el pastel imposible', has two layers - one a moist chocolate cake, the other a creamy flan - so it could also be called 2 in 1 cake as well! What makes it impossible is the fact the the cake and the flan swop places in the bundt tin when cooking. The cake rising to the top and the flan sinking to the bottom. It's a great dessert for a gathering and is appealing to all ages. The burnt sugar caramel is not essential but the bitter sweet taste compliments the sweet flan, an...

Baja Style Aubergine Tacos (vegan) by Jake Norman

Baja Style refers to the famous fish tacos of Baja California - where fish is battered, placed on a tortilla with cabbage and tangy chipotle mayonnaise. This recipe replaces the fish with aubergine and the mayo with Chipotle VEGAN Mayonnaise. What we love about this recipe is the addition of vodka to the batter which keeps it super crisp and is a great foil for the creamy aubergine within. ¡Que Rico! NB: If you want to keep the taco completely gluten free just sub out the flour for gluten fre...

Potato Tostones with Sour Cream and Tomatillo Salsa

Squished and fried baby potatoes serve with a little sour cream, diced onion and a dribble of Tomatillo Salsa. These are a great side to meat dishes such as Beef Barbacoa.

Beef Barbacoa

This recipe is so easy and so good. Meat and a marinade is baked in a casserole dish with a lid in the oven for about 3 hours until the meat is fall apart tender. The marinade couldn't be simpler to make, add everything to the blender and blend, no toasting or soaking of chillies! Serve as tacos with corn tortillas, diced onion, green chilli and lime or serve as a meal with Potato Tostones and seasonal greens.

Ancho, orange, cajeta flan

Flan is a favourite pudding in Mexico. It is light and refreshing after a meal. The addition of the ancho chilli is inspired by Ixta Belfrage's recipe in Ottolenghi Flavour. Genius! The flavour is light but compliments the orange and the bitter-sweet caramel so beautifully. Rather than making individual flans, making one large one is much easier to turn out and makes a family-sharing dish. The caramel floods off the top when you take your first scoop which is always a pleasure. nb, we have use...

Smoky Black Bean Dip by Daniela Villanueva

This Black Bean Dip with Pasilla de Oaxaca and Epazote is perfect as a dip for Totopos! It has a strong smoky taste and is perfect for chilli lovers!

Garbanzo - Chickpea salad with homemade vinaigrette

Delicious, nutritious and colourful salad. Great as a main dish, but same can be served as a side. Improvise and have any leftovers you may have lying around, extra veg, cheese, etc!

Green Pozole

This recipe uses the left overs from a duck, the fattiness replicating the traditional pork very nicely, however you can make this recipe with chicken or turkey leftovers too. In fact you don't need any meat at all, it is great with a good vegetable stock and enriched by toasted pumpkin seed paste. The garnishes are inspired by El Pozole de Moctezuma a famous pozoleria in Mexico City, where they add raw egg yolk, sardines and mezcal to your bowl. This recipe is made easier with a pressure co...

Chilli and Mezcal Chocolate Truffles

Rich, swarthy, decadent truffles with gentle spicy heat from fruity mulato chillies, a whiff of smoky mezcal and balanced with a touch of savoury Sal de Gusano (agave worm salt). A great accompaniment when sipping mezcal, a coffee or an Espresso Martini.

TOSTADAS DE TINGA DE POLLO (Chicken Tinga Tostadas)

Tinga is a beautiful sauce that built from layers of flavours, the sauce cooks very much like an Indian sauce. The frying of onions, the amount of oil, the rich tomato and tomatillo base with the smoky heat of chipotle and the perfume of bay make this a special sauce indeed. It can either be cooked saucy to serve with rice or reduce the sauce a bit and use as a tostada topping. We have used chicken but you could use prawns or for a vegetarian version green beans and small cubes of potatoes would...

Paloma with fresh pink grapefruit and pink himalayan salt rim

This is a refreshing drink that is easier to make and more refreshing than a margarita. The grapefruit and salt really work together, the tequila flavour just coming through and the soda water making it delightfully sparkling. You can either make it with fresh grapefruit juice and soda or use bottled soda like 3¢ Pink Grapefruit Soda or Jarritos Grapefruit Soda, both are delicious.

Tostadas with crema and cheese for pozole

Tostadas are a traditional accompaniment for pozole as they provide satisfying crunch between spoonful's of brothy pozole. Topping the tostada with cooling crema and a grating of rich hard sheep's cheese is a decadent way to embellish your tostada, a trick we learnt from the young Mexicans who worked in Taqueria. !Que rico!

Tacos de Tuetano (Bone Marrow Tacos)

Roasted bone marrow, often described as “meat butter” works a treat spread over a warm corn tortilla with a sprinkle of salt, you can add salsa but there is something delicious about the simplicity of the unctuous marrow, corn and salt.

Mexican Prawn Cocktail (Coctel de Camaron)

Refreshing, chilled Mexican prawn cocktail is a real crowd-pleaser. The seafood sauce is an oilless dressing and is a perfect balance of sour lime, sweet ketchup and spicy hot sauce. The cucumber and sweet white onion add crispness while the avocado adds richness. Serve with crunchy totopos and a lime wedge. This cocktail also works well with crayfish and langoustines. Prawns: we have considered the sustainability of prawns, and we think the small north Atlantic prawns have a fantastic flavour...

BARBACOA TACOS

Barbacoa is a Mexican term for BBQ, but it is different from the American style BBQ in that the meats are slow-roasted and steamed (overnight!) in an underground brick lined wood-fired pit until melting tender. Traditionally beef, goat or mutton is wrapped in maguey or banana leaves and placed over a pan of water and vegetables. The drippings from the meat flavour the broth, making a delicious hot drink to have before or with your barbacoa. Since most of us don’t have a pit, the alternatives ar...

Salsa Borracha

For a killer Salsa borracha (drunken salsa) we have turned to Alex Stupak who has an Oaxacan inspired recipe, which uses the smoky flavours of pasilla de Oaxaca and mezcal,

Yucatan Achiote Baked Fish - Tikin Xic

Achiote is a beautiful paste from the Yucatan. It is made with annatto seeds, spices and garlic and imparts an earthy flavour and cheerful bright red colour to anything it is cooked with. Here we have marinated a large piece fish with achiote diluted with fresh citrus juice and baked until burnished. Served with black beans, pickled pink onions, Mexican white rice, corn tortillas and a salad of little gem and avocado.

TRES LECHES CAKE

Tres Leches (three milk's) cake, is a super light sponge made by whipping egg whites into the batter mix. Once baked the sponge is soaked in sweet milk and topped with whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruit.

Mexican green rice

There are many ways to make green rice, but they all have something in common: the addition of plenty of fresh green ingredients. We have used roasted jalapenos, coriander, parsley, and spinach. Serve with fish, chicken or enchiladas.

Mexican red rice with vegetables

Hearty Mexican red rice made with tomatoes, onion, carrot, and peas. An easy to prepare, delicious side dish for anything from grilled meats to mole.

Roasted Green Jalapeno Emulsion