Spiced black bean soup

For T.O.M

As I have written before, I have a bit of an obsession with Mexican culture. I have realised since writing that first post that it isn’t just about the gory history and the beautiful art, its about death. Or rather, about life and death – by acknowledging death, life can be really noticed, and appreciated much more. Colours are brighter and more saturated, music is louder and flavours are stronger and more vibrant.

This soup is adapted from Thomasina Miers’ book Mexican Food Made Simple. This is the third recipe I have made from that cookbook, the others being warm corn salsa and ceviche, and I definitely think it is wonderful. Mexican recipes can be tricky, the ingredients aren’t necessarily that easy to get hold of in the UK, and it is quite pig and shellfish focused, not that easy if you are vegetarian or kosher. This book however is really accessible and contains loads of suitable and delicious authentic recipes.

When I first made this soup, known in the book as ‘sopa azteca’, I was completely blown away by how delicious it was – I did not expect something so simple to make to taste so complex. It is rich and deeply savoury – it tastes almost meaty even though it is vegan.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

Two 380g cartons cooked black beans – don’t drain

2-4 fresh plum tomatoes, depending on how big they are

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

½ onion, or a whole one if it is smallish, diced

1 tsp chiptle paste

500ml chicken or vegetable stock

juice of 1 lime

salt and black pepper to taste.

Garnishes: (optional – it is very nice on its own too)

Tortilla chips, broken up

Feta or goats cheese, crumbled

Tomato salsa

Sour cream

Diced avocado (tossed with lime juice to stop it discolouring)

Method

First you need to toast the tomatoes and garlic. Heat a frying pan (no oil needed) and when its really hot, add the tomatoes and garlic cloves. Let them blacken on all sides (charred splotches is fine, don’t worry about blackening them completely) and remove. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and roughly chop. Don’t worry if you can’t get all the skin off the tomatoes.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until translucent. Then add the garlic, tomatoes and chipotle paste, and fry off for about a minute before adding the beans with their water, stock and lime juice.

Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, blend, and season to taste. Serve on its own, or with some of the garnishes suggested above.

Sorry again about the lack of photo – have a poem instead.

FRIDA KAHLO COMES TO DINNER
Christine M. Strickland

Frida Kahlo has come to dinner,
Late, as usual, a little drunk, as usual,
Scattering fag ash like confetti,
Partnered by her perpetual pain
Whose grim claws she wears as lightly
As the ribbons on her dress.
Undefeated, her thirst for life unquenched,
There is more energy in her hair
Than in my entire body.
The brass band of her beads and bangles
Transforms her limping steps
Into a fiesta dance, all rainbow skirts
And flashing teeth and eyes.
Frida Kahlo has come to dinner,
Though eating frankly bores her,
Gets in the way of talking, drinking,
Smoking, making love.
Aware of this I give her tiny pastries
Olives, nuts, morsels of spiced meat;
Fuel for her flame, swallowed without tasting.
Frida Kahlo has come to dinner
And the carnival never stops.
Her long hands are two kites,
Trailing coloured tails of laughter,
Sketching, in the smoky air between us,
Whole galleries of portraits.
Frida Kahlo has been to dinner
And is now gone, taking the party with her,
Leaving this withered Puritan
Faded, dusty, unbearably alone.

Tilapia ceviche with lime, coconut and chilli

Adapted from Thomasina Miers’ Mexican Food Made Simple

Happy New Year!

I can’t quite believe that I have been consistently blogging for three years. It really is the longest that I have ever stuck with any kind of extra-curricular activity, and I am so proud of myself. I love reading old posts and seeing how much I have learnt and grown over the past three years. It is good to see that my photography has become a little better, although I am still rubbish at remembering to take photos (as you will see here).

I made this recipe for friends after Limmud conference, where we were all feeling a little fragile (the Limmud-hangover lasts for days), and in desperate need of fresh, healthy and light food. I have never cooked with tilapia before – Thomasina Miers’ recipe called for sea bass, but when I was at the shop the tilapia fillets were much cheaper, and I thought that I would give it a chance.

According to the Good Fish Guide, tilapia are rated ‘1’, meaning that they are the most sustainably produced seafood. They are also omnivores, and “have a low requirement for fishmeal and fish-oil in their diets, making them net producers of fish protein and therefore a valuable aquaculture species.” They also don’t have such an amazing flavour, which means that they are excellent for dishes that have a lot of marinade or strong flavours, such as this recipe. 

Because I am a bit of a smug show-off at times, and a bit lazy, whenever I entertain I always take into account the ease:impressive-ness  scale – how easy something is to make, versus how delicious and impressive it is. Hands-down, this recipe wins on all counts. It is super easy to make, very impressive, and absolutely heavenly to eat.

Serve this to guests and they will go absolutely bananas.

Serves 5-6 as a starter

Ingredients

5 tilapia fillets (no skin), diced into 2cm (ish) chunks (or use sea bass)

Juice of 4 limes (you could, if you like, zest them before squeezing and dust the ceviche with a little zest just before serving)

½ can coconut milk

½ tbsp olive oil

Pinch sea salt

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 red chilli, finely diced (seeds in or out depending on your preference – to be more authentic you could use half a habanero chilli, but they are too spicy for me)

Handful roughly chopped coriander leaves

½ avocado, diced (squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the avocado to stop it discolouring)

Serve with tortilla chips (or lettuce cups for healthy people) and lime wedges

Method

About an hour (max. two hours) before you want to eat the ceviche, combine the fish, lime juice, coconut milk, olive oil, salt, red onion and chilli in a glass bowl, and stir well (careful not to mush the fish). The coconut milk might look like it is splitting a bit in the lime juice, but don’t worry about it. Cover the bowl with cling film and stick it in the fridge.

When ready to serve, drain the ceviche of some of its liquid (you don’t want it too dry though), and mix with some of the coriander. Scatter the rest of the coriander and avocado on top.

And that’s it! “oooo” “aaahhh”


(sorry about the lack of photo)

Warm corn salsa

This recipe comes from Thomasina Miers' Mexican Food Made Simple. It is a really fantastic book and this former Masterchef winner and owner of the chain Wahaca really does know what she is talking about. The TV series accompanying the book is fantastic also, from her beautiful gappy smile, stunning Mexican locations, history and evocative food. Ever since I learnt about how Aztecs used to cut people’s hearts out while they were still alive (I was probably around 8) I have been obsessed with all aspects of Mexican culture. I love the silly movies set in Mexico like ‘From Dusk till Dawn’ and ‘Desperado’, Frida Kahlo, Like Water for Chocolate, songs with Mexico in the title (Down in Mexico, Mexican Radio) and the food, most of all. I distinctly remember rolling my eyes at my grandparents trying to eat fajitas with a knife and fork at the age of 10. Somehow if you don’t have salsa dribbling down your wrist, it doesn’t really count.

Apologies for the lack of photos on this one, I made it last night for dinner and was so impressed that I wanted to get it up here as soon as possible. If I make it again I will add some photos in. it really is a delicious salad, sweet, warm and spicy, smoky and fragrant with lime and coriander. Serve it with sour cream and some tortilla chips.

Ingredients

Approx.. 4 cups of fresh or defrosted frozen corn (not tinned)

1 onion, finely diced

1 or 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely diced

Cooking oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Juice of 1 lime (sadly my limes had absolutely no juice in them so I had to use lemon, it still tasted great though)

Handful of fresh coriander, roughly shredded

½ teaspoon of ground allspice

Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large frying pan and when its hot add the onion, chilli and corn. Sauté over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onion starts getting a little translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the onion looks cooked and the corn has taken on some colour. Add the allspice, salt and pepper, lime and coriander and cook for a minute or two more until the coriander has wilted slightly.