Wahaca - you make me happy!

I can never put my finger exactly on why I become a ‘regular’ in some places. It tends to be restaurants rather than pubs that I become a regular in as I find that getting a good meal can be more difficult that getting a good pint and as such, more care should be taken when choosing an eatery than a drinking establishment.

One of the restaurants I frequent is pretty much everybody in London’s favourite Mexican restaurant, Wahaca. Their food is exciting, challenging on the pallet yet not scary like some restaurants. I can only imagine it would be very difficult to go in there and choose something you end up not liking. I have been going to Wahaca for about nine months and this Monday, I was invited to a screening of the cooking programme created by their co-founder, Tommi Miers. I learnt how to make guacamole (pictures to follow) and indulged in a fair few citrus fizz’s (non-alcoholic as I am on the wagon for the moment!).

Unlike most PR events I have been to, they seemed to have invited people who were already advocates of the restaurants and brand. There was a good buzz about the place as everyone mingled and felt that they had genuinely been invited as a fan of the establishment rather than what the establishment felt that they could get out of them. This meant that when everybody talked, they talked honestly. Some commented that they preferred the look of the Mexican version of a chilli dish to Tommi’s anglo-version, although they were very different and both had massive plus points. The Mexican version was deep fried and in a chili whilst the anglo-version was a fruity delight, both made my mouth water and much to my relief I had nachos and salsa to keep me going.

Everybody agreed that there was a lot more passion involved in the cooking and creation of the show than most cooking programmes. The genuine desire shown by a chef discovering new things is what is portrayed by the show. It’s on channel 5 every Tuesday at 7.30pm. Worth a watch and worth an investment in some fresh ingredients to cook along!

Tommi has said of the show:“I first visited Mexico when I was 18 and immediately fell in love with the food and the people. I am thrilled to be making this series because it is such a great opportunity to meet some of Mexico’s most interesting cooks and bring their amazing cuisine to a wider audience. Too many people think Mexican food is brown, heavy and covered in sauce. I want to show that it is fresh, exciting, bursting with flavour and above all, simple. “



Tommi Miers in her kitchen!



If you watch it and chose to cook along, use #mexmadesimple on twitter and let Tommi know how it goes!

After the screening I went upstairs with my good lady and we had dinner. She had her usual fish tacos and I have a cactus fondue! It was, well, very nice but a curious fusion of textures. It is worth trying and I would recommend it as I would trying crocodile or kangaroo in an Australian restaurant.

Below is a recipe from Tommi Miers book “Mexican Food Made Simple”. If I can make it, anyone can!

A simple roast chilli salsa

This is a quick and easy table salsa, the likes of which grace every cantina across Mexico, and it goes with anything. Once you have a feel for how to roast vegetables in a dry frying pan, start experimenting with different chillies.

Makes about a cup

Cooking time: 20 minutes

4 plum tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

1 large jalapeño chilli

1 large tablespoon chopped coriander

½ white onion, finely chopped and rinsed under cold water

juice of ½ lime

a pinch of sea salt

Step 1. Gather together all of your ingredients and heat a large,

heavy-bottomed frying pan over a high heat.

Step 2. Place the tomatoes, garlic and chilli in the dry frying pan and dry roast until they are blackened, blistered and soft. The tomatoes will take a little longer, so remove the garlic and chilli first as they are cooked (about 5 to 10 minutes).

Step 3. Remove and discard the stem from the chilli and the skin from the garlic and put both in a pestle and mortar. Pound to a paste, then add the tomatoes and work them into the chilli.

Step 4. Add the coriander, onion and lime juice. Taste and check for seasoning.

NOTE This can all be done in a food processor, but you will lose the lovely rough consistency that you get with the pestle and mortar.

Roast chipotle salsa

Omit the jalapeño and raw white onion and roast an onion, chopped in quarters, along with the garlic and tomatoes. Blend in a food processor with a Chipotles en adobo, seasoning with lime juice, coriander and salt as above.

Classic roast salsa verde

Roast 500g tomatillos in place of the tomatoes (or if you can’t get them, use green tomatoes) and 2 serrano chillies in place of the jalapeño. Prepare as above.

(Quote, picture and recipe courtesy of Wahaca and Story PR)