It was so lovely on Saturday to have everyone who came to my very first workshop at Claremont Farm in October all come back together! Their enthusiastic support and encouragement have really helped me push forward and get creative with devising new workshops.
On Saturday it was all about cooking with dried Mexican chillis, although we also used fresh Jalapeños and Habañeros. We made fresh corn tortillas, and turned them into a scrumptious brunch of “Huevos Divorciados” using super fresh eggs from Raby Eggs ! “Divorciadous” rather than “Rancheros” because we added a green tomatillo salsa.
Dried Mexican chillis need careful handling to bring out their smoky fruity aromas. But with a little experience they can be easily incorporated into everyday soups and stews, as well as traditional Mexican dishes, they are a fabulous ingredient to have stashed in your store cupboard. We made a wonderful super healthy black rice salad which everybody raved about, a great illustration of how Mexican chillis are not just for Mexican dishes!
I demonstrated how to make healthy baked taco shells, and we transformed some home made blue corn tortillas, into tortilla chips and used them to rustle up a plate of Nachos.
I have two places left at my Workshop in March, so head-over to my website if you would like to come along, its a great way to spend a cold winters day!
The take home goodie bag included some dried chillis, a jar of home made “chipotles en adobe” and some luscious brownies created by the super talented Katie of Squidges Bakery, using a “Mulato” chilli paste which I made and top quality Cassia Bark from Spice Kitchen . A packet of Sea Spring seeds chilli seeds was also included, if you do want to have a go at growing your own this year, now is a great time to get started, Sea Spring seeds have a wonderful range, and they are the foremost authority on Chilli Growing in the UK.
There was also lots of salsa making, and everyone learnt to make a batch of empanadas.
Last but not least I made a plate of ever versatile Tostadas for everyone to share. Whitmore & White now stock tiny corn tortillas which are the perfect size for making Tostadas, plus a range of other Mexican ingredients.
My Workshops in April and May will all about “Southern Mediterranean Cooking” I will be adding the dates to my website later this week.
Thanks so much to Beth Edmondson for taking all these fab photos.