Little Cravings in Mexico City

Mexican street food, called antojitos (literally ‘little cravings’) is truly astounding. It’s a whole separate cuisine, within Mexican food. It’s so wide-ranging, delicious and mind-bogglingly bizarre, that I have been told, if you visit Mexico City, don’t bother with any restaurants; just try all the food trucks, market stalls, and street vendors, three times a day.

I mean look at this stuff!

They have chilaquiles;toasted tortilla pieces, cooked in salsa, then topped with cheese and meat, elotes; grilled corn on the cob, covered in cheese, chilli powder, flavoured salt, mayonnaise, sour cream, and sugar, fruta con chile y limợn; little cups of cut fruit, dusted in chilli powder, salt, and sugar, then drenched in lime juice, gorditas; discs of masa harina dough, stuffed with cheese and/or meat, and deep-fried, raspados; Mexican snow cones of shaved ice, filled with multi-coloured and multi-flavoured syrup, flautus, tacos, tamales, tortas, and taquitos with hugely variegated fillings.

And they have nachos callejeros.

Nachos callejeros are insane. They’re much like ordinary nachos, but for a couple of differences. For a start, they often use flavoured cornchips. Which is far from normal in Mexico. And secondly, they are made in the bag the cornchips come packed in. Which means you can eat them, while you walk around, checking things out. Be warned though! They are as messy as all hells, so don’t try to eat them with your fingers; use a fork. A spoon is also helpful, so you can get at the last of the juice-soaked crumbs.

Nachos Callejeros (Street Nachos)

Ingredients

* 4 x 90g packs flavoured corn chips, 1 cup conchinita pibil, 1 cup frijoles refritos, 1 cup chile con queso, ½ cup shredded cheese, 1 cup pico de gallo, ½ cup guacamole, ½ cup sour cream.

These are as easy as all buggery. First, ensure that you can warm up the conchinita pibil, the frijoles refritos, and the chile con queso. You can heat them in the microwave, or on the stovetop. They don’t need to be absolutely boiling hot, but they need to be warm.

Open the top of the cornchip bags of and slit each bag open along the front or back, allowing you to open the bags up, Add an equal portion of conchinita pibil, frijoles refritos, chile con queso, and guacamol to each bag, trying to spread them around evenly. Top each bag with some cheese, pico de gallo, and  sour cream. Put each on a plate and serve them.

These are a common street snack in Mexico. They’re lovely!

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

* 1 green chilli, 4 large tomatoes, 1 large red onion, 12 stalks coriander, salt, lime juice.

Chop the chilli and discard the seeds. Core the tomatoes and cut them into tiny pieces. Peel the onion and dice it into pieces the same size as the tomato. Chop the coriander and discard any big pieces of stalk. Put these all aside in the one bowl.

Sprinkle salt all over the tomato mixture, and add a couple of tablespoons of lime juice over the tomato mixture too. Mix the lot together thoroughly and adjust the ingredients

Serves four to six.

Literally ‘the beak of the rooster’. Good with Mexican and Tex-Mex food. The term “ensalada Mexicana” is also used for this stuff.

Chile con Queso

Ingredients

* 4 shallots, 1 garlic clove, 1 tbsp pickled jalapeños, 5 stalks fresh coriander, 30g butter, 1 tsp chilli powder, ½ cup sour cream, 1½ cups good grated Cheddar, salt, pepper, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp plain flour.

First, prepare the vegetables. Trim the ends off the shallots and finely chop them. Peel and crush the garlic and put them aside in one bowl. Finely chop the jalapeños and put them aside in another small bowl. Wash the coriander, trim the roots off, pick off the larger pieces of stalk and chop the coriander finely. Put the coriander in with the jalapeños.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over fairly low heat. Add the shallot and garlic, and cook it together for a minute or so, until the shallot softens slightly. Add the chilli powder and cook it together, stirring it as it cooks, for another minute.

Stir the sour cream into the shallot mixture. Add the Cheddar and cook the sauce, stirring it as it cooks, for a few minutes or until the Cheddar melts. Stir in the jalapeños and the coriander. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan and sift the flour into the pan with the butter. Stir the flour and butter together and cook the roux, stirring it as it cooks, for a few minutes. Stir the sauce into the roux and blend it together thoroughly. If there are any lumps, use a stick blender to blend the mixture very well. Adjust the seasonings.

Makes six portions.

Wonderful dip/sauce from Chihuahua. Put it on nachos or serve it as a dip.

Frijoles Refritos

Ingredients

* 2 x 400g tin baked beans, 1 brown onion, 12 cloves of garlic, 4 stalks green coriander, salt, pepper, cumin, chilli flakes, smoked paprika, ground oregano, olive oil, 1 cup grated Cheddar, 125ml chicken stock.

Wash all the sauce off the beans and mash the beans pretty well, leaving a few beans whole. Put the beans aside.

Peel the onions and garlic and dice them both very finely. Wash and trim the coriander and mince it finely. Put them aside in one bowl.

Mix a big pinch of salt with a pinch of pepper, a huge pinch of cumin, a pinch of chilli, a huge pinch of smoked paprika and oregano and put the mixture aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy pan and gently fry the onion and garlic mixture gently until the onion is completely transparent. Add the spice mixture, stir it in and cook the onion for a couple of minutes. Add the beans and fry them gently for a few minutes, mashing them as they cook.

Add the cheese and stir it in. Cook the beans for a few more minutes, stirring as the mixture cooks. Stir in the stock and turn off the heat. Leave the beans to sit for a few minutes.

Makes about three cups.

These are often called ‘re-fried beans’, although ‘well-fried beans’ would be a better translation. These are the standard accompaniment to much Mexican food, as well as most Tex-Mex food. They’re also good in tacos or burritos