Recipes: Mexico

A delicious recipe that Visit Mexico kindly allowed us to use from their collection of traditional Mexican recipes. Perfect for a starter or main course.

This world famous drink is a wonderful, fun cocktail drink served over crushed ice in a salt rimmed glass. The Margarita originates from Mexico in the 1930s and 40s. There are many versions of the story surrounding the specific circumstances of how it came to be but virtually all of them involve a Mexican bartender skilfully concocting the drink in honour of a lady.

Fajitas have become a very popular Mexican dish loved and eaten by many. The Fajita began as a favourite of Mexican cattlemen working the Texan-Mexico border during the early 1900s. The dish gets it's name from the cut of meat traditionally used - skirt steak. This recipe is uses our special Fajita mix with delicious flavours of smokey chipotle chillies.

This traditional Mexican dish showcases one of our favourite varieties of chilli - Chipotle Meco, which is a dry smoked Jalapeno. The dish is relatively straight forward to prepare and it captures perfectly the deep smokey flavour and aroma of the Chipotle chilli. A regularly eaten favourite of ours, we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Refried beans are a staple at meal times in Mexico and are great as an accompaniment or when incorporated into Burritos or Tostadas. The type of bean used varies from region to region and our version using the pinto bean is typical of what you would find in Northern Mexico. A great variation is to substitute half the pinto beans for black beans. This recipe makes use of Guajillo chillies for heat and extra depth of flavour.

The first thing to say about Chilli Con Carne is that it is not, strictly speaking a Mexican dish. What we now know today as Chilli Con Carne is a bastardised version of what was served as free food in Mexican drinking establishments in the 1800s as a way of prolonging the drinkers' stay so they would spend more on booze. The previous days left-overs were recooked using spices and chilli. The dish became american-ised in Texas and became an important part of Tex-Mex cuisine. A good Chilli Con Carne takes time and should be cooked slowly. In our recipe we use Chipotle chillies to impart their deep smokey aroma and flavour and Habanero chillies to provide a good strong chilli heat.

This is a great dinner party dish because aside from using Ancho Poblano chillies and being absolutely delicious, it can be prepared in advance and reheated just prior to serving. Its a common dish in Northern Mexico enjoyed for its layers of flavour; creamy and hot, crunchy corn kernels and the coriander adding a refreshing after taste.

An amazing Pork main dish using the red chilli sauce recipe from our website. This delicious combination of pork tenderloin and chilli sauce made from Guajillo chillies can be served with rice, or used as a filling for flautas, chiminchangas, burritos or tostadas.

This is probably the most versatile version of the red chilli sauces and is made using Guajillo chillies. It also shows the important technique of toasting dried chillies on a griddle pan which develops the flavour. This sauce can be used to make red enchiladas, enchiladas rojas, with any preferred filling; with cooked pork to make carne con chile Colorado; and also with string beans or potatoes to make simple Lenten dishes.

Salsa Fresca is what most of us in the UK think of as "Salsa". Home made Salsa is always the best because all the flavours are fresh and you can choose the texture and your preferred level of heat - we always like it a little bit chunkier and hotter than you can buy in the shops and our Habanero chillies never disappoint on heat or flavour. A nice chunky salsa is easy to make and a perfect accompaniment for all of our meal recipes.

Chimichangas are deep fried Burritos and are a very popular snack in the North Western Mexican regions of Sinaloa and Sonora. They are often a little smaller than a standard Burrito. Various restaurants in Arizona have laid claim to the Chimichanga though as they are essentially a deep fried Burrito we prefer to think of them as a Mexican invention!

Mole sauce is a rich sauce flavoured with chocolate, chillies, spices and a whole host of other ingredients. This particular recipe is a famous traditional recipe from the Martinez family of Oaxaca City and is served every day at their wonderful restaurant Casa de la Abuela. Mole is traditionally served with Turkey but can be used with Chicken or Pork. Mole sauces are thought to originate from the state of Puebla east of Mexico City. The exact origin of Mole Poblano is disputed but one of the more interesting stories is that it was served to Cortez and the invading Conquistadors by the Aztec King Moctezuma who thought they were Gods.

Guacamole is a wonderful simple feature at the Mexican dinner table. The best Guacamole is always fresh and home and also you can decide on the consistency you prefer. In Mexico Guacamole is usually served chunky.

This sauce recipe is taken from the traditional Mexican dish Chipotle Chicken. It perfectly showcases one of our favourite chillies the Chipotle which is a dry smoked Jalapeno. Chipotle chillies are a very traditional chilli and were used even before the Aztec empire was established. In this recipe it is combined with another much loved chilli the Ancho Poblano to give you a great tasting and versatile chilli sauce!

Tostadas are great party food. Tortillas are fried until golden brown and then used to layer different ingredients into a stack of 3 or 4 high. Usually made from corn tortillas though in some areas wheat tortillas are used instead. They look great on the table and are perfect for sharing!

Pozole is another traditional dish of Mexico and is eaten a lot around the Christmas period. In Mexico they use a special type of corn that isn't widely available in England so we have had to adapt this recipe to use normal sweetcorn instead. If you want your Pozole to be a little bit spicier simply add more of the Guajillo chilli based red chilli sauce.

Enchiladas are a traditional Mexican food, easy to prepare and incredibly delicious. On this recipe page we include 3 variations using our 3 different sauces though the assembly and preparation are much the same. For perfect side dishes see recipes for refried beans, guacamole and salsa.

This is the salsa of all salsas and has been lovingly created for all you dedicated chilli connoisseurs who are bored with the usual supermarket options and want to make a deliciously textured, flavour packed salsa fresca. Bursting with the flavours of ancho chillies, guajillo chillies and chipotle chillies that hit your palate individually to finish with a smoky after flavour and chilli kick. Make sure you keep it chilled until serving for full enjoyment.

Words cannot describe how truly delicious Flautas are! They are assembled in a similar manner to Enchiladas though less filling is added and they are wrapped more tightly before being deep fried in corn oil to give a wonderful crisp finish! You can use different sauces in their preparation - see the ingredients section for links to the sauces.

This Shrimp soup is so good! It has a wonderful creamy texture with whole shrimp pieces and carrot chunks. Very tasty and the presence of chipotle chillies provides an embracing warmth and their characteristic deep smokey flavour. We've read a lot about Mexican shrimp soups and are thrilled to add this very easy to prepare version to our recipes list. If you can't find shrimp then try using prawns as a substitute.

I first heard about this dish when a Mexican friend came to my house one afternoon to hang out, cook & eat. We didn't actually make any but the name stayed in my head. The key ingredient in this recipe is the annatto powder - a wonderful spice that comes from the achiote tree native to southern Mexico. This dish can be enjoyed as a filling for corn tortillas or with rice or beans.

Used to marinate meats and fish Adobos can also be easily turned into sauces for dipping or adding to tacos, enchiliadas, flautas and burritos. This recipe features pasilla, cascabel and guajillo chillies so the flavour is diverse and delicious!

There are various Mexican rice recipes used in Mexico and this is one that we find particularly exciting. It is brightly coloured owing to the annatto powder uses, with lovely contrasting flecks of green from the fresh peas. It's a great side dish to go with any one of our main Mexican dishes and can also be used for filling burritos.

Mole sauce is a rich chocolate sauce flavoured with chillies and spices and a whole host of other ingredients. This particular recipe is a famous traditional recipe from the Martinez family of Oaxaca City and is served every day at their wonderful restaurant Casa de la Abuela. It uses Ancho Poblano and Guajillo chillies. Mole is traditionally served with Turkey but can be used with Chicken or Pork. Mole sauces are thought to originate from the state of Puebla east of Mexico City. The exact origin of Mole Poblano is disputed but one of the more interesting stories is that it was served to Cortez and the invading Conquistadors by the Aztec King Moctezuma who thought they were Gods.

Pumpkins are a big part of Mexican cuisine and you will find them being used in many great Mexican recipes. Here we have a delicious soup which is perfect as a winter warmer with delicious flavours of Chipotle, Ancho Poblano and Mexican cinnamon. If you're looking for an extra chilli kick you can add some extra Chipotle and perhaps a few Habanero flakes.

Rice pudding is found in many cuisines from around the world. Variations to this warming and indulgent pudding tend to be around the flavourings added and our Mexican style rice pudding relies on mellow Mexican cinnamon, tequila soaked raisins and grated dark chocolate to finish.

Boxing Day Burritos are where Christmas Day leftover meats should end up instead of the cliche turkey and mayonnaise sandwich (thanks but no thanks Mr Carolgees!). A fun, imaginative and delicious way to enjoy Boxing Day dinner time and something really different to look forward to. The Burrito originally comes from early 1900s Mexican street food culture and consists of a lighty toasted tortilla wrapped around a filling that in Mexico would usually consist of refried beans, mexican rice or meat. In practice the filling is very open to personal tastes and nowadays a wide variety is used. Many people also add guacamole, salsa and sour cream to pack in as much flavour as possible.

Carnitas means "little meats" and is shredded slow cooked pork shoulder, finished off in the oven to crisp up giving you a mouthwatering combination of soft, tender and crunchy textures. Carnitas can be enjoyed with Mexican rice or used to fill tacos, enchiladas or burritos.

Christmas just isn't Christmas without the spiced scent of mulled wine warming on the stove. Being a chilli company we decided that the more traditional version could be improved with the addition of some chillies and we selected Piquin chillies for the job for their rich flavour and superb appearance. We found that they added a nice level of chilli heat without overpowering the other flavours - of course you can always add more than specified in the recipe if you want your mulled wine to be hotter! Also in the mix is our delightful Mexican cinnamon for a sweeter, mellower cinnamon flavour.