Salsa

For some reason, it's taken me ages to get salsa right.  It's not that different to Gujarati chutneys (not what is in English considered a "chutney" but spicy sauces of various descriptions to accompany samosas and bhajias and other such savoury things) which I can manage just fine but salsa just never worked for me.  I tried various recipes online but the consistency just didn't come out right - too watery or too chunky or both. ARGH.

Anyway, the other day, we were having Mexican food and I resolved to try again with salsa.  I've tested this recipe out a couple of times since (in the interests of science, obviously, not just because it resulted in more Mexican food) and it appears to work.  Hurrah!  I no longer have to buy it at the supermarket and feel like a dismal failure.

Salsa

Recipe:

Quantity:  plenty for two people who really like salsa.

Chop four tomatoes and two onions finely (do not use a food processor, this makes it all too watery) - I like pretty much a 1:1 ratio of tomatoes to onions but, obviously, if you aren't as fond of onion, you may want to dial back on the onions.

Add the juice of a lime.  If you don't have a lime, lemon works pretty much equally well.

Add  about two tablespoons worth of tomato puree - I find this is the key to making it not watery.

To taste, depending on how hot you like your salsa:  red chilli flakes, paprika, sumac, black pepper.  I find the blend of different types of pepper gives it more depth.

And, obviously, a bit of salt.  Optionally, a little bit (like a teaspoon or so) of vodka gives it a little kick that's quite nice.  Topping with chopped coriander is also good but not vital.

Sweet potato, bean, cheese and mustard burritos

I realise that these sound bizarre but they are incredibly tasty.  Honestly.  In our house they have a collective noun of their very own and are known as "mustardy sweet potatoey beany goodness" which sums it up rather well, we feel.  We have fed them to a variety of people all of whom seem to have enjoyed it - including my lovely in-laws who are usually more meat and plain veg types.  The recipe is here.

The only tweak that I've made to this when I've made it is that, rather than peel, chop and boil the sweet potatoes, I put them unskinned in a plastic bag in the microwave, leave the bag slightly open, and then microwave.  My grandmother gave me this tip - it works with other vegetables too, potatoes/aubergines if you're wanting to add them to something but don't have time to cook them more conventionally.  I have absolutely no idea what made her come up with this method but it is genius.

Anyway, having cooked some sweet potatoes in the method of your choice, you mash 'em:

Mashing sweet potato

Mashing sweet potato

Cook up a tasty mixture of onions and a tin of tomatoes:

Tomato and oniony goodness

Cook up some beans - mmmm, beans.

Beans

Stir in a whole jar of seedy mustard - no really!

Mashed sweet potatoes with mustard

Stir in lots of grated cheddar (also added in some chopped coriander because why not?).  Actually, this is a really good sweet potato mash in general, we've used versions of it to top vegetarian cottage pie.

Mashed sweet potatoes with mustard, cheese and coriander

And then the beans - gently!

Mustardy sweet potatoes with cheese and beans

Then you wrap in tortillas and bake for 10-15 minutes:

We usually make a lot of them and freeze - they freeze really well, except that they take quite a while to defrost.  If possible, it's best to defrost them overnight and then bake in the oven.  If you can't defrost overnight, give them a quick blast in the microwave before baking in the oven from frozen.

Mexican restaurants in London

Unlike most British people, I've had quite a lot of exposure to Mexican food, as I have visited Arizona frequently over the years due to having family there.  Unfortunately, Britain has not generally been good for Mexican food but that's slowly been changing over the years.

I've sampled a few Mexican restaurants in London so I thought I'd do a quick round up of them. Short version:  go to Lupita.  It is awesome.

I've been to the Wahaca on Wardour Street a few times.  It has some interesting vegetarian options, I especially like their vegetarian main course salad, and the fact that they experiment with interesting combinations, such as lancashire cheese and black bean.  They put the same degree of creativity into their vegetarian options as the rest of the menu which is really nice.  They also have a really interesting drinks menu - various types of tequila are perhaps to be expected but they also have some Mexican non-alcoholic drinks that are interesting and a bit different to what you would normally get at a Mexican restaurant.

They lose points for me for other things though: atmosphere - the place is incredibly noisy and not all that comfortable);  and the fact that they bring the food to you at random intervals, which they claim is about the authentic street food experience (um, wouldn't that involve an actual street?) but seems to me to be more about laziness about co-ordinating things in the kitchen, I love tapas/mezze style eating but not when it's forced on me and I don't get any choice about what dish comes when.

Because it's geographically quite handy for me, I've also been to Tortilla on Southwark Street a few times.  It's a nice place to go if you're after a relatively cheap and cheerful meal in the area - two of you can have a burrito each and a pitcher of (very tasty) margaritas for around £20 which is pretty good value in London.

I went to Mestizo for Sunday lunch a few months ago as they do an all you can eat lunch, with as much wine and beer as you like, and that seemed like a good idea.  It wasn't.  The food was ok - though the vegetarian offerings were more minimal than the website suggested - but the main issue was that the service was pretty surly, we had the strong impression that they resented us for not being Mexican and we got significantly worse service than anyone else there.

I've been to La Perla on Charlotte Street a couple of times.  The vegetarian options aren't terribly exciting but they are well executed and it has a tequila flight which is nice for those of us who haven't had a chance to try much nice tequila.  It's a pretty nice all rounder, the only reason why I wouldn't go there more often is because it's not Lupita and Lupita is only a short walk away.

On that note, Lupita, on Villiers Street is, hands down, my favourite Mexican restaurant in London. The food is delicious, with many and varied interesting vegetarian options.  I'm a particular fan of the "Chicharron de Queso" which is essentially a thin piece of deep fried cheese.  Nothing wrong with that!  Last time I went with a vegetarian friend and we had the vegetarian platter for two which, at £18.50, is quite expensive but gives you an extraordinary amount of very nice food.  The margaritas are also very very good.  The only real downside to Lupita is that the atmosphere isn't great - it's crammed full of tables and is quite noisy.  The downstairs is a bit quieter but still not great.  Given the food, though, I don't care!