How to make easy Mexican street food

After encouraging you to try something new this year, I though I would give you some inspiration to get you started, so how about a really simple Mexican street food recipe! The beauty of a lot of Mexican recipes, it’s all about adding big flavour to pretty basic core ingredients. So forget the dreary winter weather and add a bit of sunshine and spice to this evenings meal

I’m currently in Spain and our local greengrocer stocks ready fire roasted sweet potatoes, this is what I used in the recipe and they are a real treat, but equally you can use a regular potato or even liven up your leftover mashed potatoes (or mashed up roasties from your Sunday roast!). The only other main ingredient is pack of tortillas which are available absolutely everywhere so you have no excuse to go and put this dish together and make something that truly tastes more than the sum of its frugal parts.

Ingredients

Makes 4

4 x Corn Tortillas (or use the flour version but corn ones crisp up better)

1 x Large Sweet or Regular Potato

1 x TBSP Ground Cumin

1 x Small Bunch of Fresh Coriander

1 x Good handful of crumbled Wensleydale Cheese (or grated Cheddar)

 Chilli powder of fresh diced chilli to taste

Salt for seasoning

Vegetable Oil

First off boil your potato until tender then mash and season with salt to taste. Now add the ground cumin, fresh coriander and then chilli to taste, of course if you’re using leftover mash go straight to this! TIP: I haven’t given you a measurement for the chilli as each powder and pepper vary so much. Add either half a teaspoon of powder or a 2 cm (1 inch) long piece of fresh chilli diced. If it’s not hot enough go up from there little by little until you get your desired heat.

Then simply take a tortilla and spread a quarter of your potato mixture on one half and add some of your cheese on top then fold the tortilla in half... Simple! Now fry on a medium heat in a lightly oiled frying pan turning occasionally until both sides are golden brown and they are ready to serve. As accompaniments try some sliced crisp lettuce and a simple salsa of the same amount of diced onion and tomato with a touch of chopped fresh coriander and a squeeze of fresh lime. Another easy side dish is fresh avocado roughly mashed again with a squeeze of lime.  Some roasted red peppers also add big flavour to your plate. There you have it, a fresh, simple and quick healthy meal that will go down a storm with anyone who’s a fan of Mexican food. So have a fiesta! Remember to share your experience with this recipe in the comments below. Michael Robinson