Mexican Jumping Beans

Ok, so there aren't really any jumping beans but the rest of the title is accurate. There are beans and this is Mexican. Actually, what follows is a simple process for creating a base for Mexican dishes.

The story behind this has nothing to do with our lives in Spain, rather it stems back to a previous life in England and in particular yours truly's job working for a local newspaper in Stafford. The area I coverered for the paper consisted of North Stafford and a beautiful little town named Stone. My job was to convince business owners to place advertising in the paper and to assist me in this endevour I produced a monthly feature extolling the virtues of one shop, restaurant or service each month. My favourite feature by far was the opening of a new Mexican Restaurant and co-incidentally my introduction to Mexican food. So taken was I that I grabbed myself a cook book and went through it faster than a dose of... well, damn hot chilli I suppose.

Without further ado then, here is my quick (short-cut) recipe for chilli which can be enjoyed with rice, taco shells or as in this case, wrapped in corn tortillas and baked in the oven.

The base for my version is;

One large Onion;

2 cloves garlic;

1 Heaped teaspoon of hot chilli powder (or extra hot if you dare... and you do, don't you);

2 teaspoons of oregano;

1 teaspoon of ground corriander;

4 fresh tomatoes;

500ml of tomato pulp;

4 fresh mushrooms;

one large green pepper

250g of kidney beans; and

500g of minced beef, pork or if vegetarian use substiute mince or extra beans and mushrooms.

Optional - fresh jalapeno chillis for an extra kick.

For the sharp of eye, while the beer is not an ingredient, it is not optional. A friend of mine who also happens to be an Executive Chef and therefore an authority on the subject once informed me that the biggest crime committed in the kitchen is to cook without alcohol within arms reach.

So here we go. Chop the onion into small pieces (diced if you prefer) and place in a large frying pan (I use an old wok for pretty much everything) with a dash of corn oil and a splash of water. The oil should be hot but not too hot and the water is meant to help keep the onion moist. Fry them for about 5 or 6 minutes with the aim of making the onion soft, sweet and kind of translucent.

Add to the onion the corriander, chilli powder and oregano. Also salt and pepper to taste. It's not mentioned in the above but I sometimes add about half a teaspoon of turmeric. It gives the onions a yellow colour and enhances the flavour. Stir for a minute or so and if the onions are drying up and starting to burn, add a splash of water. Now you can add the meat and fry until the red/pink colour has gone.

You should have something like this!

Into this should go sliced mushrooms, crushed and chopped garlic, roughly chopped tomatoes and the green pepper sliced lengthways (well why not). Stir in with the rest of the mixture and a final dash of water then add the tomato pulp and kidney beans. Just a note at this point on your choice of beans. It is possible to buy beans in a can or jar ready to just throw into the dish however if you choose dried beans ensure you follow the directions for their preparation on the packaging material. Dried kidney beans will require soaking and cooking before being added to the recipe. We wouldn't want to have you poisoned now would we?

Cook this for about 20 to 30 minutes so that the mixture is nice and thick and looks something like this;

And that's basically it. We had a friend over for dinner and so I made up a batch of chilli con carne as above, used it to fill rolled up corn tortillas (not flour tortillas as these go soggy) and placed them in an oven dish. Copious amount of grated cheese was sprinkled on the top and then the whole thing was placed in the oven on a medium heat so that the cheese melted and the tortillas warmed but did not burn or go too crusty. The result is below.

I served this along with salad and refried beans which are easy to make and taste fantastic but, that's another post.

Incidentaly, the restaurant in Stone was called The Casa Loco and was opened by a former flight attendant who had developed a taste for Tex-Mex on her stop-overs in the States. I hope the restaurant is still there as the food was sublime and the atmosphere lively. Maybe if someone from Stone reads this they could let me know. (Who am I kidding? If anyone reads this it will be a miracle).

Ta tar for now, Steve