Mexican Food Made Simple on TV!
If you missed either of the last 2 episodes you can view them on the Channel 5 Microsite: http://www.channel5.com/shows/mexican-food-made-simple
In this third episode I am still in Oaxaca, visiting the ruins at Monte Alban and marveling at their size and splendour. Back then warring tribes of Indians dominated different parts of Mexico, living on a diet of insects, wild plants and herbs, corn, chillies and fruit like avocados and tomatoes, vegetables like courgettes and pumpkins. Protein came in the form of a bit of dairy, pumpkin seeds, beans and the occasional foraged game or fish from nearby lakes or rivers. In those days cacao was so valuable that the pods were used in place of coins as a local currency.
I find a village with three generations of women cooking the most exquisite quesadilla I have ever tasted, stuffed full of courgette flowers, a vivid green fresh salsa made from roast chile de agua (a fresh chilli only found in the state of Oaxaca) and Oaxaca string cheese. I honestly think it is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. The family are wild good fun too....three generations of women spells three generations of naughty, gossiping girls who still behave like teenagers joking around with each other and teasing the men. They are expert weavers too and though you could hardly call them rich, they live with such simplicity, yet with pride and elegance in the depths of the countryside, that you can’t help admiring their spirit. They cannot believe that courgette flowers cost such a fortune over here. In Mexico they grow virtually the year round, but when I visit they are out of season so cost all of £5 for a kilo, hugely expensive for them. The idea that they cost up to £2 each has them screaming with laughter. They all suggest making a new business exporting flowers to England. I am not sure how long the flowers would stand up to the transport.
I also do some cooking with Alejandro Ruiz, one of my favourite chefs in Mexico, who shows me the most delicious Mexican breakfast ever, a chorizo salsa that he serves with black beans, tortillas and avocado. Sensational! Man, they eat a good breakfast in this country! I cooked up a lot of streetfood on this show, we ate a lot of chorizo and we marvelled again at how bloody delicious hot chocolate made with water was here, using ground, roast cacao beans, rather than some meagre cocao powder that we have to put up with.
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