Salt, fat, acid, heat, as US food writer Samin Nosrat put it. Or, put differently: salt, avocado, lime juice, chillies. Or salt, soured cream, lime juice, green peppers. The ingredients will change, but often the reason Mexican food is so appealing is that any given dish hits every one of those key notes. Using green, less ripe varieties of the likes of peppers and chillies, rather than sweeter red and orange ones, also brings a welcome piquancy and freshness. There’s much more to Mexican cuisine than dips and margaritas, of course, but for those with a love of salt and lime, that combo, cliched though it is, remains a constant delight.
Creamy green peppers with jalapeño salsa (pictured top)
This is our take on rajas con crema, a Mexican dish that uses charred fresh poblano peppers. They’re hard to get hold of in the UK, so we’ve used green bell peppers instead (although by all means use poblanos if you can find some). Serve the peppers on a heated serving dish, so they don’t cool down too quickly.
Prep 25 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 4
1¼ tbsp olive oil
1 large onion (200g), peeled, ½ finely sliced, ½ finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1¼ tsp cumin seeds
2-3 green peppers (500g)
Fine sea salt and black pepper
80g creme fraiche
80g soured cream
200g firm mozzarella, roughly grated
100g manouri or feta, roughly crumbled
For the salsa
2-3 fresh jalapeño chillies (60g), finely chopped
3 tbsp lime juice (ie, from 2 limes)
2 tbsp olive oil
20g coriander, finely chopped
To serve
8 soft flour tortillas, warmed
1 lime, cut into quarters
Put a tablespoon of oil and the sliced onion in a medium saute pan on a medium-high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and a teaspoon of cumin, cook for five minutes more, stirring frequently, until lightly caramelised and fragrant, then take off the heat.
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9 (or higher if your oven allows). Put the peppers on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and rub them all over with the remaining quarter-teaspoon of oil. Roast for 15 minutes, until the skins are blistered in places, then remove, cover with foil and set aside for 15 minutes, until cool enough to handle. Carefully peel and discard the skins, seeds and stems, then cut the flesh into 1½cm-wide strips and add to the onion pan.
For the salsa, put the jalapeños, lime juice and oil in a bowl with a quarter-teaspoon of salt and mix well.
Mix the creme fraiche, soured cream and mozzarella in a bowl with three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Put the onion pan back on a medium-high heat and, once hot, stir in the cream mixture, turn down the heat to medium and cook for two to three minutes, until the cheese has melted and heated through. Transfer to a warmed shallow bowl.
Stir the coriander through the salsa, then spoon half of it over the creamy peppers. Top this with a quarter of the manouri or feta, followed by the remaining quarter-teaspoon of cumin. Serve with tortillas, chopped onion, lime wedges and the remaining manouri orfeta and salsa in bowls on the side.
Classic retested: spicy chipotle chicken with black-eyed bean salsa
I’ve gone chipotle-heavy in this mole-inspired recipe. The chilli mellows a bit during the cooking, but if you prefer less heat, just reduce the amount of chilli to taste. Serve with rice, slices of ripe avocado and soured cream, if you like.
Prep 25 min
Marinate 1 hr+
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 6-8
8 chicken thighs (1½kg net)
3 onions (500g), peeled and cut in half through the root, then each half cut into three lengthwise
For the marinade
200g jarred roast red peppers (drained weight)
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
5 chipotle chillies (20g), soaked in 200ml boiling water for 30 minutes, seeds and stalks removed
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3 tbsp white-wine vinegar
2½ tsp demerara or any other brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
30g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
20g coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus 10g extra to garnish
Salt and black pepper
For the bean salsa
400g tin black-eyed beans, drained (240g)
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
20g coriander, finely chopped
To serve
Cooked plain white rice (optional)
2 limes, cut in half
Fine sea salt and black pepper
Put all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender, add two teaspoons of salt and a good grind of pepper, then blitz smooth and pour into a large bowl. Add the chicken, toss to coat, then set aside for at least an hour to marinate (or put it in the fridge overnight).
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Spread the chicken, all its marinade and the onion segments over the base of a large 30cm x 40cm oven tray. Roast for an hour, basting once halfway, until the chicken is tender, the onions have softened and the oil has separated from the marinade. Take the tray out of the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the salsa. Put the beans, lime juice, oil and half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl and mix well. Just before serving, stir in the coriander, then spoon half the salsa over the chicken. Serve the rest of the salsa on the side with plain rice and lime wedges.
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