food to glow

Crispy, delicious and vegan, this chipotle refried bean and herb quesadilla with za’atar yogurt sauce is perfect for lunch or a light dinner. Sauteed and lemony seasonal vegetables add extra flavour and nutrition. Serve with green salad and your favorite hot sauce. The recipe is easily increased for a healthy family meal.

Is Mexican food even healthy? Mention grabbing some Mexican food to anyone and you will probably get one of two reactions: “oh my God, I LOVE IT! Let’s order everything!” and “I love it but it doesn’t love me. Too heavy”.

The image outside of Mexico can, unfortunately, be of a cheese-heavy, oily cuisine. But really, if we steer clear of the chimichangas (origin: Tuscon Arizona) and deep-fried taco shell salads, the cuisine is very healthy. Meat and cheese are actually a very late addition to Mexican cooking, by way of conquering Spain.

I am not an expert on Mexican food and I don’t claim to be. However, I grew up in south-west Florida, where proximity to Mexico makes homestyle Mexican restaurants even more common than identikit Taco Bells – and even McDonalds. They range from high-end gourmet to walk-up buses to plastic fork takeaways, with the latter the most common. The same can be said of southern California, where Mexico shares a border and Mexican food is even more of an obsession.That such small and usually unglamorous places survive is testament to our increasing desire for honest, wholesome food. And proper Mexican food is definitely honest food. I’m sure that much of what gets served in the US, and everywhere else outside of Mexico, is a watered down version of the nopalitos-strewn and epazote-scented dishes served up in Mexico. Most of what is on offer is Tex-Mex, which is fine, but it isn’t Mexican. Authentic Mexican cuisine emphasises fresh herbs, spices, seasonal vegetables, fish, as well as beans and minimally processed corn. Using these, even dishes knocked up outside of the Yucatan can be on a par with the much-vaunted Mediterranean diet.

My last Mexican meal Whenever I visit family I rely on my sister and niece to steer me to the latest must-visit Mexican restaurant. My most recent trip saw us on the “wrong side of town” hunting down an elusive diner housed amongst bail bond shops and heavily-fortified liquor stores. Let’s just say I was glad it was midday and not midnight. We found the restaurant housed in a former cheap motel, the kind of place where the rooms all open onto the parking lot. Disconcertingly for nervous Nellies like myself, there was no all-important window to peek in and suss the place out first. It was literally a flimsy door with an out-facing peephole viewer. You just opened this unmarked hotel room door and hoped you weren’t interrupting anything.

Luckily the only thing we interrupted was – very briefly – fork to mouth choreography. We were quickly given a short, wipe-clean, no-frills menu and a never-ending basket of freshly-made tortilla chips with smoky, fresh tomatillo salsa – laced with something we couldn’t quite put our finger on.

On a better day, I could have just eaten that and been happy. I wasn’t feeling that great so ordered a small soft, masa harina taco, with freshly cooked garlic and herb shrimp – fat as you like – and nibbled at it. But I did reach over to my niece’s plate and sneak a few tortilla scoops of truly outstanding refried beans – silky, creamy and wholesome. I don’t think she noticed. 😉

The Best Mexican in Edinburgh In Edinburgh, we used to have just a few Mexican places, only one of which was passable, in my opinion. But now we have the outstanding El Cartel, whose recipes are heavily influenced by the staffs’ experiences in Mexico. No chimichangas in sight. (Check out the menu.) As well as 80 types of tequila, mezcals and agaves, their margarita machines churn out the best damn frozen margs I have had the pleasure of sipping (okay, slurping). I’m pretty sure that’s not authentic, but I don’t really care as they are that good. Sharp, small, moreish.

My recipe This is how I like quesadillas, but the recipe is not authentic. I haven’t imported anything, just used what is easy to get and tastes good. Right now bought courgettes/zucchinis are small and sweet, and my herbs are newly lush so it seems right to use them. Once my own courgette plants are smothered in tight yellow buds I will add these too – this is definitely authentic. If your courgettes – whether yellow or green – are flowering, add these as seasoning. They are deliciously peppery. Also, I’ve used soft wheat piadinas – Italian!! – because if making these for just me I will only use one of the flatbreads and corn ones are not as biddable as their softer wheaten cousins. I love, love Crosta & Mollica breads, including their piadinas. But if you are making for more than one, or are especially ravenous, best corn tortillas from a Mexican deli are a must. If you are in Edinburgh or Glasgow I can recommend the superlative Lupe Pintos.

Before giving the recipe, I have a bit of an announcement. My blog has been nominated for a prestigious Good Housekeeping Food Award. I know! How did that happen?

I would be exceedingly grateful if you took the time to vote (for me, I hope!). By doing so you could win a share of £1000 of food and drink vouchers. One thing to know is that you need to vote in every category, so if you are not from the UK just select what looks good in each category (favourite coffee brand, fave celebrity chef, cookbook – that kind of thing). And also, as of right now votes only go through on tablets and laptops, not phones. Voting doesn’t take long though.

Here’s the voting link: Good Housekeeping Food Awards 2017

Thank you so much for supporting me. I would bake you all a cake if I could!

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