Ham and cheese empanadas, anyone? Tune in for Mexican Food Made

One woman, in the main square, had a beautiful selection of multi-coloured, multi-layered jellies but looked so horrified by us that she pointblank refused to be filmed even though her jellies were to die for. Another cheeky chap begged to be put on camera but only had a handful left that we could film and frankly they were not a patch on the first woman’s. In the end we found an amazing stall. Jelly is something I’ve only recently become a fan of…those blocks of it that we used to have as children really didn’t float my boat. Nowadays we seem to have come under a jelly renaissance though with acts like Bompas and Parr really showing how far you can go with them. At home I made a hibiscus and passion fruit version but I love the elderflower and champagne one at Mark Hix’s restaurant in Brewer Street.

Also, not a lot of people know this but in the 19^th Century a whole lot of Cornish miners emigrated to Mexico to go and work the silver mines there in the state of Hidalgo. With them they brought a funny sport where the men kicked around a ball to each other. The Mexicans immediately fell in love with this quaint idea, hence football arrived to the Americas. The Cornish also brought with them their recipe for the Cornish Pasty. In this state you find ones so similar to the Cornish ones, it is uncanny but throughout North, Central and South America you also find empanadas, delicious pastries filled with meat, fish or vegetables, baked or fried. I’ve no idea if empanadas developed from that original Cornish pasty or not? I go and make some of the best Mexican empanadas I have ever tasted in a little village called Ocotlan, which are filled with chicken, fresh epazote and a wonderful light yellow mole.