MEXICAN MOMENTS

 

There has been Mexican madness sweeping the country of late and we enjoy a taco or a fajita as much as the next person. Inspired by the delicious Quinoa & Bean Burritos w/ Slaw & Green Tomato Salsa at Veggie Num Num I have been playing with different Mexican feast combinations ever since. As part of the spread I’ve been making our own tortillas, which are delicious and really are the star of the meal.  They do take time and you need to rest the dough so If you’re time poor or it’s an after work dinner you should buy some pre made.  I have been seeing more authentic tortillas and tacos without all the preservatives at the whole food/organic stores.

This feast consisted of a Corn, Coriander and Capsicum Salad, Salsa, Chargrilled Chili and Lime Chicken, Salsa and Guacamole. Essential supporters are plenty of limes, jalapenos, Mexican hot sauce (I use Cholula), coriander and in my case plenty of serviettes for all the optimistic tortilla stuffing.

I’ve been tempted to buy a taco press but think that might be going one step to far in the land of gadgets that don’t come out very often but take up a lot of space. Do you have an appliance that fits that description? I often think at Christmas time what happens to all the donut and Dutch pancake makers in the New Year.

CORN, CORIANDER AND CAPSICUM SALAD

2 corncobs

Spanish onion chopped

Half a bunch coriander leaves chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 red capsicum chopped

Juice of 3 Limes

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and cook the corn for 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Once cooled run a knife down the edge of the corn and the cob, repeating until all the kernels are removed. Combine all the ingredients and season to taste.

SALSA

1 red capsicum

1 chopped tomato

½ cup of chopped coriander leaves

½ chopped Spanish onion

1 birdseye chilli or to taste

Salt to taste

Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until it is a thick salsa consistency

Adapted from Veggie Num

GUACAMOLE

1 avocado

1/2 finely chopped tomato

Handful of chopped coriander leaves

Juice of one lemon

¼ finely chopped Spanish onion

Salt to taste

Mash avocado with fork and combine all ingredients. Adjust lemon and salt to size of avocado and to taste.

CHARGRILLED CHILLI AND LIME CHICKEN

6 chicken skinless chicken thighs

½ cup of chopped mint leaves

½ cup of chopped coriander leaves

1 birdseye chilli or to taste

Juice of 3 limes

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 tablespoon of sugar

40ml olive oil

Salt to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour or as long as time permits.  Cook the chicken on a barbecue or griddle pan until cooked through, approx twenty minutes. Slice chicken on the diagonal to serve.

 

FLOUR TORTILLAS

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1-½ teaspoons of baking powder

¾ of warm almond milk

2 teaspoons of canola oil

1 teaspoon of salt

Combine the dry ingredients and the oil. Slowly add the almond milk, stirring until a loose ball is formed. Flour a work surface and knead the dough for two minutes. The dough should be soft and firm.

Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or tea towel for twenty minutes.

After the dough has rested, divide the mixture into eight and roll into balls. Place them on a plate with space in between and cover with a damp cloth or tea towel for ten minutes. It’s important to rest the dough, don’t skip this bit! Working with one ball at a time place the dough onto the floured surface and press down with your palm until it’s around 4 inches wide. With a rolling pin, roll it out until it’s about eight inches wide and thin. Don’t overwork the dough. Keep tortillas in slightly damp tea towel until they are ready to cook. Flour each one so they don’t stick together. Heat a fry pan till hot and cook the tortillas for about thirty seconds each side, they will start to puff and bubble when ready. Keep tortillas wrapped in dry tea towel until ready to serve. Reheat in foil in the oven if need be but I leave the tortillas till last while the chicken is cooking.

Adapted from Home Sick Texan

Serves 2 hungry people. Enjoy