Rick Stein: The Road to Mexico: 120 Vibrant Recipes from California and Mexico

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In the same pan, add about 1tbsp of oil and brown the beef in batches, setting it all to one side when you’re done. You might need to add more oil as you go. For the mole, rinse and clean the chillies. Remove the membranes, stems and seeds, reserving a few teaspoons of the seeds. Toast the chillies in hot dry frying pan for about 20 seconds until fragrant but not burnt, then soak them in a bowl of just-boiled water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Large chunks of slow-cooked beef brisket in a deep dark rich sauce, full of spice and smokiness. Two types of chilli peppers and a special sauce known as adobo, as well as at least two hours stewing, make this an unctuous, hearty dish.

Combine the sugar cumin, smoked paprika and salt and rub all over the pork, working it into the scored skin. Leave at room temperature for half an hour or in the fridge overnight.

From the book: Rick Stein: The Road to Mexico

We’ve all heard of chilli con carne, but carne con chilli is a completely different creature. More in keeping with the true Mexican dish, this is a rich, slow-cooked wonder that will never let you look at the meek mince and beans you’re used to the same way again. You don’t get the sweetness of the chocolate, or the herbaceous tang of the bitters; just an elevated level of flavour that really enhances the dish. I can see what the excitement over mole sauce is about now. Put the soaked chillies and about 150ml of their soaking liquid in a blender and add the garlic, tomatoes, salt and chipotles en adobo. Blend until as smooth as possible, then tip into the casserole with the onions and add the browned beef. Stir in about 300ml of the chilli soaking water. Reserve the rest in case you need more later.

We first heard of carne con chilli with our friends Clare and Dave – our mates we visit as often as possible in the UK.The kind of food in The Road to Mexico is so versatile. These quesadillas made an excellent lunch, but I can also imagine serving them as a brunch or part of a colourful Mexican evening feast. A+, I say. Would recommend to a friend.

Place the same pan over a medium heat and toast the bread, 1 teaspoon of the reserved chilli seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, coriander seeds, peppercorns and cinnamon until fragrant but not burnt. Set them aside and blend to a powder when cool. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and sweat the onion, garlic, epazote or oregano and chilli until very soft. Add the passata and cook for 15–20 minutes. Liquidise the sauce in a blender or food processor and season with pepper and salt to taste. Heat a tablespoon of lard or oil in a large flameproof casserole and brown the cubes of beef all over. It’s best to do this in batches, adding another tablespoon of lard or oil as needed. Transfer each batch of meat to a plate. Then add the remaining lard or oil to the pan and fry the onion for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the cumin, oregano, allspice and bay leaf. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ Fan 160°C. Important: don’t taste this sauce yet. It will put you off, make you think you’ve wasted your time and induce much anger. It tastes like sour over-brewed tea. The tomatoes have to cook more and the beef will infuse beautifully. Give it time.Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and fill a deep-fat fryer or a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan two-thirds full with the oil. Heat to 180C (a cube of bread should turn brown in one minute when dropped in.) CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended. We’d even go to the effort of mixing up some chopped tomato into a salsa, mashing up an avocado, sour cream and coriander into guacamole to make it what we thought was more authentic. In the same frying pan, dry fry the tomatoes and garlic until softened and charred. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then peel off and discard the garlic skins and quarter the tomatoes.

Deep-fry the prawns in batches for 1 or 2 minutes until golden-brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. Preheat the oven to l60°C/gas mark 3. Heat the oil in a large lidded casserole pan over a medium-high heat, and brown the pork on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and add the onions, garlic, chillies and green pepper Sauté until beginning to char then add the vinegar and tomatoes and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan.

Ingredients

In part, it was a nod to Mexican mole sauce, but also because I just love using this stuff whenever I can. To make the guacamole, pound the chilli in a pestle and mortar with the onion and ¼ teaspoon of salt, into a lumpy paste. Add the avocado and break up the flesh roughly with a fork. The result should be lumpy not smooth. Stir in the lime juice, to taste, and the chopped coriander. Tip the remaining 50g/1¾oz flour into a shallow bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix together the breadcrumbs and coconut in a seperate bowl.