The Mexican recipes you’re not cooking – but should be

Mexican dishes are a beloved comfort food for many UK households – fajita nights being a particular staple. But the diverse landscape of cuisine has plenty more to offer, and so acclaimed chef Santiago Lastra has included some of the less-popularised recipes in his newest book, Mexican Soul. Here are some of his plates… Shorts Santiago Lastra is sharing some of Mexico’s lesser-known dishes Mackerel à la Veracruzana Serves 6 250g roasted and peeled cherry tomatoes 20ml vegetable oil 1 onion, diced into 1cm (½ inch) cubes 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 1 green bell pepper, peeled and chopped (char the skin to make it easy to remove) 1 red bell pepper, peeled and chopped 60g pitted green olives, quartered 4 roasted bird’s eye chillies 30ml olive oil 50ml water 6 mackerel, cleaned For the roasted vegetables Fresh chillies, as needed Tomatoes, as needed Onions, as needed Bulbs of garlic, as needed You can get ahead by roasting the vegetables and storing them in the fridge until you need them. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7. Place the vegetables on a roasting sheet. Roast the garlic for 40–45 minutes, the onions for 25 minutes, the tomatoes for 15 minutes and the chillies for 10 minutes. They should be soft, golden and slightly charred. Remove and leave to cool.In a food processor or pestle and mortar, roughly blend the roasted cherry tomatoes, keeping some texture. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the fresh onion for three minutes. Turn the heat to low, add the fresh garlic and cook for a further five minutes. Add all the remaining mackerel ingredients except the mackerel and cook over medium-low heat until the water has evaporated. Cut out six squares of foil, roughly double the size of the mackerel. Spread a thin layer of the marinade on the squares and place a mackerel on each one. Cover the mackerel with more marinade and wrap in the foil. Heat a dry frying pan over a high heat and add the parcels. Once the foil starts to inflate, cook for three minutes, then remove from the heat. Serve hot and wrapped in the foil with any remaining sauce and the roast vegetables. Wild garlic poppadom quesadilla (Photo: Rebecca Dickson) Wild garlic poppadom quesadilla Makes 6 quesadillas 100g fresh mozzarella 200g pre-grated mozzarella 20g wild garlic (ramsons), thinly sliced 10 uncooked poppadoms 50g halloumi, finely grated Habanero salsa 100g crème fraîche Vegetable oil, for deep-frying Put the fresh and grated mozzarella into a bowl and mix it into a homogenous paste, then add the wild garlic and mix through. Divide the mixture into six oval shapes. Half-fill a saucepan with oil and heat to 180°C (350°F). Soak the poppadoms in cold water for two to five minutes until flexible – keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t break – then place them on a tray lined with a dishcloth. Fill the poppadoms with the cheese mixture, spreading it out but not right to the edges. Use a pastry brush to brush the edges of the poppadoms with water then gently fold them over to create a semicircle. Press the edges down gently to seal them. Gently drop the quesadillas into the hot oil in batches and fry for about three minutes on each side until they stop vigorously bubbling. Remove the quesadillas from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a tray lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Sprinkle with the halloumi and serve with salsa and crème fraîche on the side. Short rib salpicón (Photo: Rebecca Dickson) Short rib salpicón Serves 6 For the short rib 150ml vegetable oil 1 bone-in short rib 2 onions, quartered 2 carrots, thickly sliced 1 bulb garlic, halved widthways 500ml red wine 200g unsalted butter 1 loaf sourdough bread, sliced Pistachio guacamole (or regular guacamole, if preferred) For the salad 10 radishes 2 bird’s-eye chillies, thinly sliced 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, thinly sliced 20 cherry tomatoes, halved 50g pickled silverskin onions, drained and halved 20g parsley leaves, finely chopped 20g coriander (cilantro), finely chopped 200ml olive oil 150ml orange juice 50ml lime juice 50ml cider vinegar Heat the oil in an ovenproof pan over a high heat. The pan needs to be deep enough to contain the short rib. Sear the short rib all over, then remove from the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Preheat the oven to 90°C fan/195°F. Add the vegetables to the pan and fry gently for a few minutes, then add the short rib, pour in the wine and cook for one minute. Pour in enough water to cover the short rib completely and then cover with foil or a lid. Cook in the oven overnight, for 12–14 hours, until the meat falls from the bone when you press it gently with the back of a fork. Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool to room temperature, reserving some oil. Check out ‘Mexican Soul’ for some delicious ideas Meanwhile, make the salad. Steam or boil the radishes for two minutes, then slice into thick pieces. Place in a bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and mix well. Heat a little of the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat and toast the bread for a couple of minutes on each side until golden, then add a bit of butter and cook for 30 seconds on each side over a medium-high heat. Place on a serving plate. While still warm, remove the short rib from the pan and place it on a serving plate, with the bones intact. At the table, pull the meat from the bones and mix it with the salad.Spread the remaining butter and pistachio guacamole on the toasts and top with the meat and salad mixture. Extracted from Mexican Soul, Santiago Lastra, Quadrille, £30.00