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I'm going to take you to hot, spicy Mexico. This time it's all about crispy tacos. Salsa, stodgy, gorgeous beans, crispy pork, and the lovely taco. It's going to be great. So, first up, let's do the beans. Tasty, soft, and spicy beans are at the heart of any truly great taco. To kick them off, fry some finely diced red onion with a big hit of mixed Cajun spice. Two tablespoons of that lovely stuff. It saves you having to muck about sort of muddling your own. But we've got paprika, basil, fennel, salt, garlic, onion, black pepper, chili, cumin, mustard seed, all in there. So, that's a really nice beginning to the story. You know, look, we want the beans to have attitude.
Okay, so beans. I'm using black beans. You can get them in all the supermarkets. Go in with two cans of beans. There's no need to drain them. I'm going to turn the heat right up. That'll come to the boil. They're going to taste great. Um, they look kind of quite nice now, but by the time I finish them, they will look horrible. But don't be put off by their ugliness, cuz they will be full of character and full of flavor. Next, I want to reinvigorate the cold leftover pork. What I want to do is just slice it up. I'm just going to hack it up to like centimeter chunks.
You really don't need a lot of meat, even if you're feeding six. It's about 300 g of leftover pork here. And this isn't horrible pig. This is proper freerange pork. You know, I'm not compromising quality. Uh just cuz I want to get it cheap. I want to be clever and I want to cook clever. It's going to be a lovely, lovely little snack, a lovely dinner. The whole point of a taco was it was accessible. It was fast. It was cheap. You'd have vegetarian ones, you'd have meat ones. You know, it would always be about stretching meat a long way. So, it's perfect. If you want to use frozen leftover meat from Sunday roast, that will work really well, too. The pork's going to be gorgeous. We'll put that straight in. I
like to chop it up before I freeze it. And then when I need it, I can just grab a handful and even cook it from frozen. But whether you're using frozen or fresh, that leftover pork will need a little pickme up. I want a little bit of paprika in there. Just a little something. So, I'm going to use a level teaspoon of smoked paprika. Just a little bit. And that'll be more than enough. That's what I love about cooking. You know, even that much level. That much is still going to rock that pan of pork. It's going to really just lift it. So, a little scattering of that. Beautiful. Chop up any leftover crackling that you've got. And that's going to be a gorgeous little treat on top of those tacos. So, we got the beans getting
progressively uglier and tastier. I like that. We want it thick and stodgy. We've got the pork is starting to fry now. Starting to shine now. And the smoked paprika smells gorgeous. Really, really good. I've made tacos before, many times, but never this cheaply. It's all about clever cooking and making the most out of those pantry ingredients that you've shelled out on and getting them to work for you. Lovely spicy tacos with a nice cold beer is a beautiful thing. The crispy tacos are warming in the oven and all that's left to make is a really humble salsa made out of one green pepper, a fiery jalapeno. In there we go as well. An onion
seasoning and a slush of red wine vinegar. Just a good lug in there is nice. For me, the point of a pickle is that it's crunchy. It's vibrant. It kind of slaps you around a bit. It cuts through kind of the frumpiness of lovely beans and the richness of lovely pork, but together there's a wonderful harmony that just works great. But I want a little surprise in there. I want a little like, what is that? Oh. Oh, what is that? And what is that today is ground clove. Okay. A nice pinch of ground clove. And I'm just going to sprinkle that in. One nice pinch. So once you've done that, mix everything with the vinegar. So let's just try a little bit.
Lovely. And that little pinch of clove is just brilliant. For very little money, that's your salsa sorted. So, back to the beans. That moisture is pretty much cooked all the way. Once it kind of gets dry like this, you can keep the beans with a little shape or you can just smash the hell out of it. So, it's more like a puree. There's no right or wrong, just preference. But look at that. Dark, kind of ugly, but kind of beautiful. There's not many things that we eat that are black, but that's going to be so good with the pork.
Look at this. The gorgeous pork. You can hear it, you know. Really, really nice uh smoky flavor going on. Just put that onto the plate like this. Call your friends, call your kids, call your family around the table. Just going to get my tacos. And that's what I'm talking about. So, I think it's time to make one up. Yeah. Load up your warm taco. First, the gorgeously dark beans. That's going to kind of give a bit of stability to your taco. Some fresh, finely shredded iceberg. Whack in that humble salsa. Crunchy. A little bit of clove in there. It's going to be really, really good. And look at that leftover pork. Gone.
Really crispy. You can see it's got gorgeous color. A dollop of soothing yogurt. And then the crispy crunchy crackling on top. And there you go, my friend. That is some really tasty, fun food. The only thing you got to do now is embarrassingly eat it. Personally, I like to put a tea towel over my head and have a bit of privacy. But for the sake of you today, I'm going to have to put you through it. stuff does start falling apart. There's no polite way to do it, but that is a very, very tasty mouthful. And it's time to cook some incredible steak. Not like you've ever seen before.
This is inspired by Mexico. We're going to do steak cooked with two sauces. Gnarly on the outside, blushing on the inside, tender, juicy, perfectly cooked. And these sauces, they're going to take your flavor sensations to the next level. Right, it all starts here with the steak. One of the things that we all fall into the trap of is buying the pre-cut steak, which is always too thin. And that means it's almost impossible to get that color on the outside and cook it blushing and juicy on the inside. Right? Even for a chef, that's a challenge. So, we can fix that straight away by buying one steak for two people, right? Slicing it, sharing it, a double steak. Oh my lord, the difference will
blow your mind. I promise you. So, get to a butcher to evenly remove this fat, then get him to cut you a double steak, and then we've got the fat. And that is incredible flavor. But underneath it is this senue. Okay, it is tough. But the fat itself is amazing. And what we can do once we've got rid of the senue is slice up the fat and that you can put in a pan. It will render the fat. So we require no other fat at all. And also it will go crispy. As that's happening, I want a little side of some potatoes. I'm using a crinkle cutter for that kind of retro fun take just because deep down we're all kids. So, if you take this potato and put it in and around the fat is going to make a brilliant little
potato garnish, it's going to be delicious. Chuck in two large chilies and cook the potatoes till they're golden and crispy. I want to make a salsa now. So, I'm going to have a little clean down. Put this steak to the side. The salsa I'm making uh is with tomatoes. So, we can just squeeze the seeds out. And I'm going to chop it up. And of course, you can do this with standard red tomatoes, but look at the colors that are out there and available. That's what it's all about. That's really fun. Then slice up four spring onions and a handful each of mint and coriander. Get yourself two or three limes. Give them a good roll. Get all those little capsules inside busting and breaking. And lime is so integral to the flavors
of Mexico. It's like a little dinner that's taken us on holiday. And then I add a little extra virgin olive oil. We'll hit it up with seasoning of salt and a little chili to get those taste buds going. In with the herbs, onions and tomatoes. So have a little taste. Woo! That's what you want. Really fresh, really crunchy. Job done. So, look at this, guys. Hot, crispy, and gorgeous. Let's just remove these potatoes now to a little plate. So, we haven't even started cooking the steak yet, and I'm really getting excited. So, look in the pan. Can you see? We've got that fat. That fat is the gold that we're going to
cook this. Season this. Don't take it from the fridge and put it in a hot pan. It's going to go tense, right? Take it out at least an hour before. So, our job as the steak cooks is really to amplify tenderness and retain moisture, juiciness. And we're going to do that by turning every minute until it's cooked to your liking. So, by turning it regularly, the moisture will be kind of trapped in the middle of the steak. And that's what you want to do. Fight to keep the moisture. I also like to get the steak and almost clean the pan, all the sticky bits. The last kind of care protocol is resting. And it's almost like when you squeeze a sponge and then you let go and it just kind of
lets the moisture go back. A little hint of extra virgin olive oil will keep the steak succulent as it rests for a few minutes. In this pan with meat juices, I want to do the last sauce. And it's so exciting. Again, we said flavors of Mexico. So, we're making a beautiful Mexicanstyle peanut sauce. So, toast up 100 g of unsalted peanuts, 50 g of sesame seeds, three cloves of sliced garlic, and a teaspoon of cumin seeds. So, I'm now tearing in some dried chili peppers. You could use a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Essentially, what we're after is sweet and smoky. Herb wise, I'm using some oregano. Little fresh thyme goes in. So fragrant, nutty. This is getting smoky. Can you see? But I do not
want to burn this, but I don't want it to be beige. I want to get smokiness and flavor going. So in with all of those ingredients. Now I'm going to put in a little bit of booze. Tequila. I love Cover with water. Add a couple of fresh chilies, a squeeze of lime, and blend it up. Right, it's now quite smooth. And it will surprise you and shock you. Oh, it's very addictive. So, the only thing to do now, let's serve it up. Start off with this peanut sauce. Rich, got attitude. Love it. And then we'll take our steak. The brightness of the salsa. Throw in a few chips.
Crispy bits. It's all about the crispy The steak is like butter. It's so tender. This peanut sauce, I'd like to make a thousand times that and fill a bath with it and jump in. It is delicious. But as annoying as it is watching me enjoy this, you can do it this weekend. What you waiting for? I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful veggie enchilada. This is a great Mexican inspired dish. It's a great way to get veggies into your life in a cool contemporary way that makes you feel happy. Right? So, let's start off with the tomato sauce. Very, very simple. Get yourself a large casserole pan. Right? We are going to prep in this and we're going to cook in this and we're going to serve in this. Right? So,
one thing to wash up. We like that. I am going to blacken and scald vegetables. So, let's get flavor happening. So, this tomato sauce happens using peppers. Uh, four tomatoes as ripe as possible. Uh, handful of spring onions. I'll nick one out for the salsa later. Uh, couple of garlic cloves. Um, it is simple as that. So, look, let me show you a cool way to deseed the peppers. Use one's thumb and shove it in there and then you can crack it open. Right. Tap out the seeds. We'll put the peppers into our pan. So, thumb in, tear, tap, squash. Spring onions. If you've got a gas hob, you might not, but if you have, um, you can just put these onions on the gas and scold them up. So, let's just jiggle those about. Same
thing with the tomatoes, but I'll do that in the pan. Two garlic cloves can go in. There's no oil in this pan. It's dry, right? You're dry frying. You're scolding. You're charring. Chili, you take your choice, right? But what I would suggest is just take the little green bits off the end. And I would probably advise removing the seeds just cuz that's where the heat is. If you don't like hot food, that's fine. Use a little bit of chili in the background. It doesn't have to blow your mind or even be registered. It can just be there supporting all the other flavors. This little bit of blackening here is just what I wanted. If you just have a look here, can you see we've just steamed it
and charred it. See how that's just soft now? So, that's what we want. We're going to take our liquidizer. A lot of parents talking about the trouble and strife of getting the good stuff in their kids. And the reality and the true answer is there's no one silver bullet. It is a lifong battle and if you get it right half the time, you're extraordinary. So, don't beat yourself up, parents. So, in here, I'm going to add just a kiss of olive oil. I'm going to put a little bit of coriander in there. I love using herbs. I just think it's a beautiful thing. Um so I'll just take a little wge of this. Right. Let's just put the stalks in there. Right. Don't waste those.
Beautiful flavor. Um I might take a little cup of water in there just to get it going. Definitely a pinch of salt and pepper. Secret ingredient for me is either lime or vinegar. Um as we are trying to salute our Mexican brothers and sisters. Lime is such a brilliant fruit. Lime skin has gone in. We've rolled it and that kind of breaks all the little capsules to look at. These are nice and juicy. Let's say one and a half limes goes in. Um, whiz this up, right? 30 seconds. How many recipes around the world just have a basic tomato sauce? So, it's not hot chili hot. It's just full of flavor. So, I'm going to put half of this on here now. That will
actually start softening um all the caramelization off the bottom of that pan. And now let's do the filling. It is really, really simple. Black beans. I'm going to drain it like that. Look. Have a look at that. They're really amazing. They're the most beautiful color. Really nutritious. Great source of protein. Really, really cheap. We'll season it with salt and pepper. If you want to give a little kind of twang, the Chipotle chili sauces have a smokiness and a deliciousness. You could use the smoked paprika. Really, really nice. In here as well, I'm going to put a little bit of feta. So, feta is not Mexican, but I can't get any Mexican cheeses, but actually feta,
which is normally over salads raw, is brilliant cooked. So, what I'm going to do is get a fork and fork it up. I like to go half mushy like mashed potato and half semi chunky just for texture. You can dress this with some nice hearthe healthy fats, olive oil, coldressed olive oil to give you flavor to give you that shine. Look, see how I'm just mushing up the feta. Some big, some small. And you can put a little bit of herb in there as well. Just a bit. Go chunky, go fine. There's no right or wrong. That is the filling. We're going to wrap that in this. So, I'm using tortilla. If you want it to be more traditional, use the corn tortilla. We got eight, right? So, two each. So, lay out your
eight tortilla. Let's stuff these bad boys. Let's just do a good spoon on each one. Okay, filling done. So, I'm going to turn that pan on just to get it going. Why not? I'm going to cook it straight away. So, I'm going to get that sizzling. And I'm just going to squeeze it and roll it. So, that's coming up to a simmer. Let's place in our beautiful little wrapped black beans. Snug them in there. And the sauce goes in and around them. Um, I'm going to pour on the rest of this sauce. As it bakes, some of this sauce will disappear. Everyone's pan is a little bit different, but ultimately our job is to cover these tortillas.
Right. If you want to cover it in some cheddar cheese, you can. I'm just going to put a little bit of this feta on top like this. I quite like some of the tortillas showing themselves, the edges. I quite like crispy bits. So, this goes in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes at 180°C, which is 350 fah. Uh, when is it ready? when it's golden and blipping and looking gorgeous. 20 30 minutes is more than enough to make a delicious salsa. And this one is a little bit different than your standard one. Let me show you. It is so fast. I think you're going to love it. So I'm going to take like four sweet corn. Um you can use a pan or a griddle pan if you wish. Can you see how quickly it's
just scalding? I'm just trying to get that smokiness happening. So all I have to do is literally just turn it. Let's turn that into a cool little contemporary salsa. So, look, turn that gas stove off. Obviously, these are quite hot now. Get a little bowl, put your cob or coette in there, hold it with your finger at the top, get your knife, and just very simply run it down like that. Turn it, run it, turn it, run it. Very simple to do this. There is your sweet corn. The juice of your lime goes in for that acidity. Let's try and go quite delicate with the spring onions. Go as fine as you can. So, just a little onion just to give it a little hum. Herbs. Use any herb you like. I'm using coriander.
Seasoning for sure. Pepper. Yeah, you can join the party. Chili. A little or a lot. It's It's your vibe. And then just mix it up. M. Sweet, smoky, fresh, crunchy. Really, really delicious. Okay, so the enchilada has had 25 minutes. Let's have a little look. It smells amazing in here. Come on. Look at that. That is proper. That is comfort food. Look at that. That imagine that putting that in front of your friends or your family. Delicious. And all I would do is finish that with a little fresh coriander for a punch of color. Look at that. Exciting food, right? So, let's put it together. I've
got a little sour cream here. Got the salsa. Take it to the table. Let's get a little plate. Just get in there. Look how it gets crispy around the edge. It just is beautiful. Hopefully, I can get it out in one. Sometimes it wants to fall off. Let's scrape up a load of that lovely sauce. Look at that. But let's put it down there. I love to have that contrast with the sour cream. You could use yogurt if you haven't got sour cream. And some of that beautiful salsa just lobbed on one side. Maybe a little shake. Chili sauce.
Let's have a little try. Wow. Just look at it. Look. Look at that lovely little mouthful. It's crispy. It's got sort of spiciness, but then it's fresh with that salsa and that sour cream. So, there you go, guys. That is a one pound wonder and a family favorite. So, guys, what you waiting for? Take care. Happy cooking and lots of love. My Mexican chili omelette is filled with uzy cheese and an amazing guacamole style saw. It all starts in here in the liquidizer. I'm going to make a gorgeous avocado dressing. Silky green and literally anything you pour it on, it turns into a heavenly thing.
This dressing is bursting with Mexican flavors. Go in with a good handful of coriander stalks and all. Whack in a nice ripe avocado and season. Add a good dollop of plain yogurt and the zest and juice of two limes. No more boring omelets. No, no, no, no, no, no. This is going to be a new level. Okay. Um, makes a lovely lunch, a lovely dinner. So, in with the juice, w it up. Loosen with a tablespoon of olive oil and a splash of water and you've got an amazing guacamole style dressing. This could sit in your fridge for four or five days as a salad dressing.
Absolutely gorgeous. Uh but I want to sort of put it around a saw. There's no magic to this saw. You just want crunchy fresh veg. I've got some seavoy cabbage, an onion, a little bit of white cabbage along with one grated carrot and something a bit more unusual. Before we had potatoes or tomatoes or even onions, the only thing we really had was kale. You can get it in all the supermarkets. It grows beautifully. You get different color kales, purple kales, this, that, and the other. And it's incredibly good for you, but people don't really know what to do with it. Well, you can just steam it or boil it. But raw in salads,
unbelievable. Now, you might have heard of people sort of talking about raw food diets and stuff like that. And before you think they're all crazy, this that and the other. By cooking food, you know, obviously you're losing some of those lovely, gorgeous things that fill us up with energy and make our nails and hair and eyes and everything work. Well, by finding wonderful ways to have raw food, you know, like colelaw, this is a really good way of getting the good stuff in you. Spoon over the dressing and get your hands straight in there to make sure every strand of veg is coated with that silky avocado. So, to hold that beautiful slo, I'm going to make a lovely large, comforting big Mexican omelette with a little
cheese. It's going to make me feel good. It's going to fill me up. And for that, I need two large eggs per person. Crack into a bowl. Add a pinch of salt. Then, whisk together with a little splash of water. This is the key to a perfect wafferin omelette. Eggs are the most brilliant cheap form of quality protein. There's a whole cocktail of goodness in an egg. If you buy it as a pack of 12, that's up to 50p cheaper than buying two sixes. So, just buying and shopping smart is going to save you a whole load of money. Get your pan on a medium heat. Okay. I'm then going to go in with a little oil. I
do not want to cook this omelette hard and fast. I do not want it to be golden. I do not want it to be crunchy. I want it to be yellow, silky. Rub a bit of kitchen towel around the pan. Uh, as soon as we think that's getting nice and hot, we're going to go in here by putting the water in the egg. Can you see how loose that is around the pan, right? And it's going to be nice and thin. We can go around the edges a little bit. Egg cooks at a very low temperature, so we want to be very, very delicate with that. Now, another little tip. Come with me over to the freezer. Uh, I know this will be the same for you as me as well, and I'm not trying to be like all
compromising. All of us have little odds and ends of cheese. Yeah. So, instead of having like bits and pieces kicking around the fridge, have a look in the fridge. I mean, some people have cheese that's been there for like a million years. Okay. Before you get to that stage, um, just have a little grate up. And what I love to do with all of my odds and ends, and this is a brilliant thing to do, it doesn't matter if it's red leester or feta cheese or cheddar. This is frozen cheese. Okay? Now, all the cheese connoisseurs will be swearing saying, "You don't do that to great cheese." But this is doing this is much better than throwing it away. It's much better uh than having odds and ends and
horrible bits in the corner of a fridge getting moldy. And what we can do here is actually we can save frozen cheese for thing like lasagnas, canalone, sort of lovely bakes. Um, and it's just a really clever wise thing to do. So, a little bit of cheese in and around my omelette there. As soon as the cheese is oozing and the omelette is set, whip it off the heat and pile in that saw. Then it's time for the tricky bit. So, get myself a little plate. Now, very important this bit. You just want to kind of get in there, ease up that omelette. For me, this is something that I do for myself fairly regularly. You can just shake it, flip it over like that. You can then go over to the plate
and do the other side. For a final taste of Mexico, scatter with extra coriander and some finely sliced chili. And for 142 a portion, you've got a super filling, super tasty supper packed with the good stuff in no time at all. It's an omelette, but definitely not as you know it. Nice and easy to make. That saw will keep in the fridge for 4 days. These omelets take a minute and a half to make. And once you made the first one, you'll just get better and you get the hang of it. And you can turn it out, roll it out, flip it out, do what you like to it. But that is a great little plate of food. Delicious.
I've got a recipe for you guys. Fajitas. This is a family classic in our house. We love it. These chicken fajitas are a fantastic way of packing in loads of colorful veg, plus protein and dairy for balance. Build your own wraps, then demolish as a family. This lunch is fun, delicious, and super good for you. First up, to get the best out of my veg, I'm creating an indoor barbecue vibe with a cooling rack over the hob. So, we're going to ruin the skins here. We're going to burn it and blister it, but under the skin will be juicy, untouched flesh. It's going to be gorgeous in there. I want to do a marinade now for the chicken. In a large dish, add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and olive oil.
A few dashes of chipotle Tabasco. Two teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika. Big flavor and not too hot. Then, crush in two cloves of garlic for an extra hum of flavor. Season with salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of dried oregano. Just shake it up all around. And that is going to be amazing flavor. Finally, add a large peeled red onion. And that's the marinade done. Time to check on the veggies. Already, I can smell the veggies toasting up. And you know, you know when you walk into a house and that smell's going on that there's going to be something really tasty for dinner.
Now, let's turn the peppers and oagene over. Look at that. Properly burnt. All this skin will be removed. But the flavors it's producing underneath are well worth it. Inside it's steaming, but the kind of burning smokes it. So, it's really, really an extraordinary flavor if you've never done this before. And totally worth every single bit of care and love that happens over there. Beautiful. Now, for our super lean chicken breast, which are a fantastic source of protein, helping our muscles, young and old, stay strong and healthy. So, for four people, we're using two breasts. Go freerange chicken if you
can, and then have less of it. So, up the quality, down the quantity. You don't feel like you're missing out, and the quantities are just perfect for this dish. If you're vegetarian, get beans happening on here. Lovely. Uh, and big up the veg even more. Slice the chicken into 1 cm strips. Then mix it up in the marinade, coating every last bit. You want the flavor to go all the way through, right? So of course if you can marinate overnight, beautiful and ours is brilliant. And even if you marinate now and cook it straight away, it's going to be better than nothing, right? But we are creating incredible, incredible flavor. When that cooks, it's going to be amazing.
Beautiful. While that sits and soaks up the goodness, my veggies are ready. So, I want to cover them in a bowl to steam and cool for 10 minutes. Then, peel off that burnt skin. You want to get the worst of the skin off, but don't kind of go getting super uptight about it. Just, you know, some chefs, you know, run it under a tap. But the kind of big no with that is between the skin that's burnt and the flesh is the sweetest, most delicious, tasty caramel. And if you just wash it under a tap cuz it's easier, all that flavor goes with it. So you can see when you just steam it like that, you can just run your hand over it and it pretty much all comes off. So what a lovely way to cook. Once the
burnt skin is removed, scoop out the now super soft oberine and slice up the peppers into similar size strips as the chicken. We're going to get in there with some coriander. And then we're going to hit it with lime juice. But look at the colors, guys. Beautiful. Now, in a screaming hot pan, go in with the marinated chicken. I want that lovely marinated cake and cooking to the chicken. After three or four minutes, turn everything over. Yes, that's what we want. Beautifully colored. This is going to be so good in a wrap. Quickly heat up some tortillas for a few seconds on each side just to soften and warm. And once all the chicken is beautifully golden, it's fajita time. I love to serve it in the
pan like this. Serve it sizzling. Everyone can dig in and create their own perfect chicken and veg fajitas. I like mine with feta cheese bombs, avocado scoops, coriander, and a squeeze of lime. And that, my friends, is a beautiful little dish. Coming in at just 448 calories per portion, this is a wrap winning on every level. It's going to go everywhere. Yeah. Mhm. What an incredible way to get loads of veggies into your diet. Really fun, familyfriendly food. Serve that with big old salad. Happy days.
