Arriba! Arriba! Help a Mexican Virgin!

[Allalonenow]

DS will be coming on a visit soon. He's mentioned a few times how much he likes Mexican food, so i thought I'd do a Mexican night for us.
I've never had Mexican food, so any suggestions as to what to make or buy ready made would be great.
DS is vegetarian so no chilli con carne
Is Mexican like tapas with a series of lots of small dishes?

Fajitas would be good because you could do a mix of meat and veggie. Grated cheese, soured cream, chopped lettuce, grated carrot etc on the side.

I can give you my Mother Ship patented veggie chilli recipe, if you want, and if he doesn't mind Quorn.

Homemade guacamole is wonderful - finely chopped red onion, finely chopped clove of garlic, finely chopped red chilli, loads of lime juice, s &p, mashed avocado and a shedload of fresh coriander.

Tomato salsa - halved cherry tomatoes, red onion, lime, finely diced red pepper, red chilli, coriander.

I am making fajitas as we speak -- I am poaching chicken thighs in water with salt, cumin and chili, then I will "pull" it like pork. I also have a pan of fried green pepper and onions. I will serve with grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa on flour tortillas. Remus has good recipes. Black olives would be a good addition, but I don't have any. I guess it's a bit like tapas in that you set out the bowls with the various fillings but you use them to make your fajita, rather than eating them separately.

If it's your first time making Mexican food, I would purchase flour tortillas rather than trying to make them yourself. (I would buy wheat, not corn, because you can heat them in the microwave with a damp paper towel the corn ones are better heated on the stove or used in a bake like enchiladas.) These are different from Spanish egg tortillas they are just a thin flatbread.

Mexican is great for vegetarians because there are so many beans. I cook a lot, but I do still buy "refried" beans in a can -- if your supermarket has a Mexican section, they might have that. There are recipes online, too. Then you just make your fajita with beans instead of meat.

Something that isn't really Mexican but quite delicious is to put a can of plain kidney beans or black beans in a frying pan on the stove, with some but not all of the liquid from the can. Heat slowly, crushing the beans with the back of a wooden spoon, so they get a little pasty as the liquid evaporates. Add a thick layer of melted cheese. Scoop out with tortilla chips. Could add sour cream and salsa.

You could also cook a rice and beans dish as a side -- they really aren't hard and don't require specialty ingredients.

I do a cheats chilli con carne, fry off a couple of diced onions, brown mince and add cans of kidney beans in chilli sauce, chopped tomatoes with chilli, chilli veg, chilli bean salad (spotting a theme?!) a stock cube, and maybe a jar of salsa if I have one. I let it bubble away in the oven or slow cooker and then finish with a few squares of dark chocolate - makes the sauce all shiny. Served in this house with flour tortillas and garnished with cheese, soured cream, salad etc. It's always better the next day too.

Just actually read the full op, it would work with quorn mince too, or just extra veg - peppers, corn, onion.

You can use veggie mince for chilli, and just do the same as you would normally do...just remember for Mexican you need cumin in your recipes. A cube of dark chocolate is my secret chilli ingredient. And pinto beans rather than kidney beans are more authentic and add a thickness to the chilli. Make sure you have cheese, sour cream and salad as already mentioned.

Oh thanks everyone, some super ideas here. I'm certainly going to do the gaucamole and the salsa and the black beans with melted cheese. What type of cheese would be best to use for that?

I'll probably stick to all vegetarian for simplicity this time, but the chilli with chocolate sounds fab, I remember I used to do a beef dish with chocolate as a finishing touch that was wonderful.

I'll look out for the flour tortillas, is that what is in the El Paso Kits I wonder?

Any thoughts as to a pudding? Chocolate maybe, or some fruit?

Chocolate cake and icecream?

Forget pudding and have Margaritas? :)

Did you want the Quorn chilli recipe? It has chocolate, barbecue sauce, three kinds of chilli plus beer in it - it has taken years to perfect! :)

I've put Margaritas on The List

Yes please for the recipe Remus

Okay -

Finely chop: 2 onions, 2 cloves garlic, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 2 carrots
Fry a bit.
Add teaspoon cumin seeds, teaspoon paprika, one finely chopped red chilli, teaspoon thyme if you have it but leave it if not, teaspoon chipotle paste, tablespoon barbecue sauce, half teaspoon red chilli flakes, loads of black pepper.
Add Quorn mince and a tub of passata plus a small bottle of lager.
Add either a couple of squares of dark chocolate or a teaspoon of cocoa (I add a v small cup of v strong black coffee here too).
Cook until nearly done - might need some water.
Add tin of kidney beans and tin of borlotti or pinto beans.
Cook until beans warmed through.

Obs taste and tweak the spicing as you wish - this is pretty spicy. It's nice with a squeeze of lime added at the end.

You can make it earlier and warm up later - this gives the flavours time to develop better too. You can cook it all on the hob or start it on the hob and then shove in the oven to cook itself (check regularly to see if it needs more liquid).

Serve with the guacamole below, cheese and soured cream, plus rice or warmed tortillas or nachos.

Flour tortillas are usually in the bread aisle; with the pittas. Usually in packs of 8.

Thanks very much for your recipe Remus, sounds delicious, I'll probably serve it with rice I think, and cook it the day before too.

Just a couple of quick questions....

What would be the best type of cheese to use for the melted cheese with beans?

Is the sour cream just plain sour cream or is it more like the sour cream dips with chives garlic etc?

Plain sour cream.

I think good old cheddar would be fine for your cheese thing. Recipes often call for Monteray Jack but it doesn't really taste of anything ime.

Thank you!

Here is my menu
Bean and melted cheese dip with tortilla crisps with drinks
Black bean chimichanga (found them in Ocado) corn fritters and tomato salsa
Vegetable chilli with mexican rice, sour cream and gaucamole

Not decided about pudding yet, might do a sorbet with grated chilli chocolate on top.

Sounds bloomin' gorgeous. :)

Is 8 for 8:30 OK for you then Remus?

That sounds delicious!

Thomasina Miers recommends Lancashire as a good substitute for Mexican cheese :)

I'll be there!

Does Lancashire cheese melt nicely? Not tried - lovely on crackers though!

I know you've got your menu sorted OP but for next time I do recommend this from Thomasina Miers www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4BkGyzdwdjhV5t3Yr57K0hg/spinach-and-feta-tacos

Thanks for that link myrtle that would make a great first course another time. I see Thomasina recommends Wensleydale instead of feta there, so obviously the cheese is quite variable.

Is Thomasina Acapulco's Nigella?

I use grated Edam for Mexican dishes; I find cheddar is just too oily when it melts and can spoil the texture of the food.

Just popping back to say that I did my Mexican meal last night, and it was a huge success, all very much enjoyed it!!
So many thanks to all of you for all your help!

(Rather overdid the alls there)

Glad it was a success OP.

Remus, your chilli recipe... I am a devotee of your dahl so am looking forward to trying the chilli. Have you tried doing it with puy lentils instead of quorn? I don't do quorn.