fuego mexicano

la fiesta

• cinco de mayo, the fifth of may, 1862. in the streets of puebla, mexico. the french came, there was some commotion, mexico won. so today, in ireland, we will drink margaritas. what a wonderful world it is.

• it is said the first battle lasted from sunrise to early evening, so we are going to break down how you can channel that inner mexican fire from the comfort of your own home. from breakfast to dinner, on the barbecue… drunk. so throw your sombrero on, blast some mariachi and vamos.

an offensive amount of limes

• however many limes you think you need, double it. then double it again. this is pretty serious.

• get down to your local veg shop, and grab a big basket. we will be using a lot of the same ingredients, so make sure to stock up on a few things. we don’t like to give strict lists or recipes, its all about adapting to what you have at home or have access to. but today we are hitting a few mexican flavours hard, so here are a few things we have used today:

• lime (a lot)
• red onion
• bell pepper
• avocado
• sweetcorn
• jalapeño
• watermelon
• tomato
• coriander
• mint
• orange
• lemon
• red/green chilli

• a few ingredients we are using today are less common, but if you have an asian or oriental market closeby, they are usually the best place to start. they are here along with other bits we used. do not worry if you cant get hold of some, use whatever you have. its grand, you will be drunk anyway.

• harina de maiz, for making the taco shells
• dried hisbiscus
• dried chillies (habanero, chipotle, ancho)
• almonds
• agave syrup (or honey)
• dark cocoa powder
• cloves
• eggs
• coriander seeds
• chicken stock (preferably home-made)
• chicken
• olive oil
• chorizo
• black beans
• frozen berries

la margarita

“two wrongs dont make a right, but two margaritas do”

–old mexican proverb, probably

• tequila.
• cointreau/triple sec.
• lime.

• we like a classic 2:1:1, its pretty foolproof.
• this means if you are using 200ml tequila, use 100ml cointreau/triple sec and 100ml fresh lime juice, none of that bottled shit here.
• add a splash of agave syrup or honey and get some crushed ice ready.
• if you don’t have a cocktail shaker (we don’t) just blend it or shake it up in something that wont splash all over you. we used a large kilner jar.
• rub lime juice around the rim of your fancy martini glass, dip in sea salt.
• add ice, pour your liquid gold in through a strainer. top with a slice of lime if you want to live fancy (of course you do). and sip this in the morning sunshine, now we make breakfast.

taco

• buy some harina de maiz. or corn flour. not to be confused with cornstarch / cornflour.

• what we want is flour made up of whole ground corn kernals to be the base of our tortillas.

• cornstarch is labelled as ‘cornflour’ on our side of the water but it is a fine white powder which is made by removing the protein and fiber of the corn kernal, leaving only the starchy endosperm. this is not what you want here.

• the best recipe is the one on the packet. follow the instructions which will be similar to:
• 200g harina de maiz
• 250ml warm water
• pinch salt

• mix together in a bowl with your hands like an old mexican abuela.

• if you were so inclined and happened to be drinking a beer, you could add a splash to the dough, which is highly not recommended but who is going to stop you?

• mix together until starting to form a ball, it wont feel like any regular dough because it is corn based, not wheat, so there is no gluten to develop in the dough. leave it to rest for 5-30 minutes or while you mix your next margarita.

• a taco press is a slick piece of equipment to own if you are a fan of tacos on a regular basis, which you should be. we had a lovely one, but left it in a cupboard when we moved house, shit one. so instead, we used a skillet.

• grab pieces of dough around the size of a golf ball, place in between two sheets of baking paper on a flat surface, and press down with something flat and heavy.

• repeat and stack them tacos. or alternatively buy some taco shells wherever you can. this is better.

• you are probably feeling a little wavy at this point already, we hope so anyway. maybe a banana or something in the morning would have been good. but here we are. cooking ‘breakfast’ a few hours late. we are using some of the fresh taco shells you just made for this infamous mexican indulgence.

huevos rancheros

• huevos rancheros. a traditional mid-morning breakfast from the rural farms of mexico, which has climbed its way into the spotlight, for good reason.

• fried eggs, peppers, black beans, fried tortillas, avocado, chorizo. what else would you want to start off your day?

• now is a good time to light your barbecue. you can do this part in your kitchen of course, but the whole point of today is to be outside in the sunshine, sipping cold margartias and eating like you are on a hacienda ranch in puebla.

• (we will drop a whole barbecue guide soon, from lighting to maintaining heat, and smoking your own vegetables, eyes peeled)

• slice some bell peppers and fry in a pan over an open flame, because it makes you feel good.

• we threw in some sliced jalapeños, diced chorizo and smashed black beans. we cooked it out until the oil from the chorizo has stained everything nice and spicy.

• take two of your taco shells, and rip them into pieces. add to pan, or fry in a separate pan of oil until super crispy, this saves cleaning time.

• crack two or three eggs in the pan, make little grooves for them to sit nicely if you desire, it is all going to get demolished in seconds anyway.

• fry until starting to crisp but the yolks are still runny.

• you can make guacamole, and we will below for later in the day. but we decided something a little smoother here would do the trick to cut the dish.

• we used an avocado, a fat handful of coriander, green chilli, lime juice and zest, then blended it with some olive oil. pour this shit directly on top of your huevos rancheros. get your next margarita ready, and sit down with your boys. buen provecho.

salsa

• salsa is a key component of mexican cuisine.

• you can, and should, eat it with everything. we added some to many of our dishes today. here is a simple chopped salsa called pico de gallo.

• pico de gallo literally translates as ‘roosters beak’, because this needs to be sharp.

• dice some red onions, tomatoes and chillies. slice a stack of fresh coriander, stems and all, and mix. cover with sea salt, lime zest and lime juice. make a lot of this, you will need it.*

guacamole

• *pro tip: make extra salsa, and you can use this to add to smashed avocados for a fast guacamole. this saves a stupid amount of time repeating yourself, and more time for drinking.

• all this prepping and cooking at this point, as the day progresses, only means its time to upgrade your poison to match the sunshine, you deserve it.

watermelon, green chilli & pink peppercorn margarita

warm beers or heavy glasses of red wine have no place in the hot sun.

• you want crushed ice. if you can only get ice cubes, blend / smash them up in the bag with a rolling in or whatever.

• buy the biggest watermelon you can find. size matters here.

• cut it around ⅔ of the way from the top, scoop out the watermelon insides.

• a blender does help. you can blitz the watermelon together, with lime zest and lime juice, green chilli or jalapeño, agave/honey syrup, and some strawberries for a bonus if you have them.

• mix in your tequila and cointreau. or do the smart thing and make a very large batch of margarita mix early in the day, keep it chilled, and use it throughout the day to top-up or create new summertime flavours.

• use the same salt from earlier for the rim of your glass, however add some lime zest, a pinch of sugar and crushed pink peppercorns and mix around. add to the rim of your watermelon also for aesthetic pleasure.

• pour all of this into your hollowed-out watermelon with the ice. throw some mint, a chilli, limes and fuck it, a bottle of corona, ice cold. pour some for the people you love before yourself, sit back and enjoy this glass of happiness.

mole poblano

• mole. this is an ancient sauce, dating back to the aztec civilisation. and it deserves respect.

• famous for its use of aztec xocolatl. which we know as: chocolate.

• dried chillies, sesame, nuts, tomato, chicken broth, cloves and chocolate all rolled into one sauce that reigns above every other fucking sauce on this earth.

• traditionally, every ingredient is toasted in various stages before mixing. dried chillies such as guajillo, ancho, chipotle. nuts from almonds and pecans to peanuts, spices whole and ground, breadcrumbs and this is even before any wet ingredients.

• we have made a guerilla version of mole, respectfully, because we needed to make it before we got too drunk to remember how.

chicken broth

• what you should do is buy a whole chicken, portion into pieces, and use the bones to make a chicken stock at home to use for your mole. but we are aware this isn’t exactly realistic for you at home sometimes. but make sure you have chicken stock of some degree, and a few pieces for actually eating in your taco.

• for the sauce, quickly toast some dried chillies in a hot and dry pan, then place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and some sea salt, and set aside.

• we quickly toasted some almonds, cumin & coriander seeds, cloves, pumpkin & sesame seeds and a cinnamon stick in the same dry, hot pan. set aside

• reserving some of the tomato flesh from our salsa making, we cooked this down on a low heat with some onions, garlic and our chicken stock. adding our toasted spices, and then our rehydrated chillies. removed from the heat, and stirred in a spoonful of dark cocoa powder.

• blend the dry mixture to a dark paste. split into two portions.

• use one half to marinate your chicken pieces for this evenings dinnertime taco, ensuring the chicken pieces are coated fully.

• the other half of the mole, we are going to blend further with coriander, lime juice and pickled jalapeños. this will be our mole verde we use to brush the chicken after it is sealed on the hot grill.

• take a little break from all this cooking. you are supposed to be enjoying yourself fully. chat some shit with your mates, the margaritas in that watermelon have probably melted just a little bit, still ice cold, but just a little bit smoother and lighter so you don’t feel bad downing glass after glass because its so fucking refreshing.

the veggie

• traditional mexican cuisine is un-apologetically not vegetable based. but however, over these parts people are, of course. so feel free to take a fat slice out of that huge watermelon you bought, sprinkle some salt, and grill it on the barbecue until crisp and glazed.

it should be hot

• that fire you lit earlier should be nicely burnt down by now. white glowing embers are a good sign of when its ready to get to work.

• add your mole-marinated chicken to the hot grill. cooking on either side until starting to brown and crisp.

• take your mole verde, and brush the chicken on both sides.

• cover the barbecue with the lid if you have one, or just keep an eye on it.

• it will smell incredible.

• remove from the grill when done. (probe to 73 degrees minimum, if you have one).

• you want to remove the meat from the bones, add to a bowl, then start shredding the chicken with either gloved hands or tongs/forks.

• this is your pollo verde. there is not much else stopping you at this point, you prepped everything earlier. well done.

• throw a few taco shells on the grill to warm and char. get your salsa, guacamole and a few wedges of lime ready. load up your favourite hot sauce and start filling your tacos with shredded pollo, adding whatever height of toppings you desire.

• sit down. take a bite of your taco with your eyes closed facing the evening sun and just enjoy that moment of mexican fuego.

• as the evening sets in, you are full but still feeling fresh, you have done a lot of cooking and hopefully even more drinking, now its time for tranquillo.

talking with friends, by the fire, on a late summers day is one of the greatest pleasures of this world.

• it is only fair that we do this moment justice, by creating a final, sun-setting margarita that will see you through the joyous conversations, laughter and smoke that is in the air.

hibiscus, forest fruit & orange margarita

• sometimes in the hot sun, something refreshing and non-alcoholic is needed.

• in mexico, having an agua fresca, or ‘fresh water’ is the right choice. usually made by blending fruit, flowers, ice, water and citrus juice.

• a popular version of this is known as agua de jamaica.

• agua de jamaica is made with dried hisbiscus, which is made into a sort of iced-tea with sugar and lime juice. we have made a variation of this using frozen berries and orange as our citrus.

did we say non-alcoholic? its fucking cinco de mayo

• you can usually pick up dried hibiscus flowers in an asian market, it is worth it for this.

• we made a concentrated agua de jamaica mix as a base, using:

• 30g dried hibiscus
• 500g boiling water
• 100g caster sugar

• pour the boiling water onto the hibiscus flowers, mix in the sugar. leave somewhere to cool to room temperature. when cool, strain out the flowers, leaving the bright ruby liquid, ready to be mixed.

• we mixed our agua de jamaica with the rest of the margarita mix we had cooled in the fridge. put some frozen berries into a blender, squeezed an orange, ripped some mint and threw it all together with ice in the watermelon from earlier, which you should have drank clean by now.

• use the same salt, lime zest and pink pepper mix from earlier for the rim of your glass. top with a slice of orange instead of lime.

• chop some wood, break a chair from your mums living room, whatever it takes to get a stack of wood ready to keep the fire blazin’ while you lay outside, staring into the flames, getting more hazy with the people you love falling into similar states closeby.

• you are probably just as sick of reading this as we are of writing it, in a serious tequila-induced hangover state. so its time you got to it.

• buy some chillies, get your fucking martini glasses ready, and take yourself off, down to mexico.

viva la fiesta