Just Call Me Senorita

I'm all fired up about Mexican food. So much so that last night I curbed my usual restraint around smoking hot pans and 250 degree ovens, and filled the place with sizzly steak and hot chile smoke. But was it ever worth it.

Why the South of the Border craze? A few reasons. Thomasina Miers is my latest Food TV crush. Mexican Food Made Simple is, well, simply sizzling. Thomasina is mad about Mexican food, she speaks a little Spanish, she's lovely with the locals, and the food... Every dish I see on that show I just have to make -- to the point that this week I broke a very serious promise to myself and my loved ones -- the no more cook books promise -- and I bought her book. (From the UK, for 11 pounds, which is about $25, and a total bargain considering it's $70 on the shelf here in NZ. Never mind that in order to get free shipping I had to buy River Cottage Everyday Cookbook as well, but that confession is for another post.)

Other reasons? Our good friends and Vancouver neighbours, who now live in Mexico, are coming to visit. Mexico is in the air. And it's cheap avocado season. The stars are aligned. 

It was geeky, but thrilling, to walk through Moore Wilsons with Mexican Food Made Simple open on my shopping trolley. Thomasina recommended skirt steak, and I was delighted to find it and even more delighted at how much cheaper it was than our usual sirloin.

Marinate a skirt steak in 4 tbs olive oil, the juice of an orange, 2 cloves of garlic, half a hot chile and salt and pepper. Half an hour is good.

Roughly chop red onions, red peppers, more chiles (to your taste), and green onions. Toss them into a hot cast iron pan, and turn them to sear. When they're looking toasted, put the pan into a hot hot oven for about 10 minutes, to let the veges cook through. Later, drain the marinade from the meat, add to the hot veges, and cook it down to a sticky sauce.

When the veges are done, put them in a serving dish and turn your attention to the steak, which you can cook in the same hot hot pan. The recipe said 90 seconds max per side. I wasn't quite happy with that, so doubled it. Do whatever you feel comfortable with, bearing in mind that every extra second brings you closer to setting off the smoke alarm. Rest the meat for 10 mins, wrapped in foil. When it's nice and relaxed, cut it in strips across the stringy grain, so you get tender slithers to eat.

My own Mexican invention: salsamole. This meal was shaping up to be very hot and spicy, so I wanted a calm cool contrast on the plate. Instead of the usual salsa and guacamole, we had a soothing bowl of avocado, tomato, lime juice and salt. No mas.

I sauted the rice in oil infused with annato seeds and a dollop of chipotle chiles from a can, then the usual steam/boil in water -- sweet, hot, smokey.  Finish off with a handful of fresh coriander and a good squeeze of fresh lime juice. (They missed the photo shoot... but don't let them miss dinner.)

When the evenings warm up, I'm going to set up outside with the Coleman stove, the barbeque and the fire, and work my way through this cook book. Maybe a stash of chile seeds is in order? Actually seeds are a bit like cook books in this household. We have too many. We keep on getting more.