Ingredients:

2 kg ripe watermelon (weight after removing rind and seeds)

50g to 75g caster (superfine) sugar, depending on the fruit’s sweetness

3 tablespoons tequila (optional)

Method:

1. Roughly dice the watermelon and puree it in a food processor.

2. Transfer the puree to a large bowl. Stir in the sugar to taste, and the tequila, if using. Mix well to dissolve the sugar.

3. Place the fruit mixture in the freezer and chill for about 2 hours, or until it begins to freeze around the edges and across the top.

4. Remove from the freezer and whisk to break up and mix in the ice crystals. Return to the freezer and chill for about 2 hours more.

5. Once again, remove from the freezer and whisk again, breaking up the ice crystals and remixing into an evenly granulated mixture. Cover with a plastic wrap and return to the freezer until frozen through – from another 2 to 3 hours, up to several days.

6. Remove from the freezer 45 minutes before serving so that the ice softens enough to spoon it out. Serve in attractive glasses, sundae dishes or paper cones.

Note: The tequila is optional, but it does more than add flavour- the alcohol prevents the mixture from freezing so solid that you can’t spoon it out without completely defrosting it. You can use cantaloupe, honeydew or any other type of melon in this recipe, or even substitute mangoes or berries. However, the watermelon gives it a richly seductive, scarlet colour. This simple, 3-ingredient watermelon ice is typical of what you would buy from a street vendor in Mexico. Everywhere in Mexico you see vendors proffering fresh fruit. The fruit may be peeled, sliced and ready to eat, or pureed and blended with mineral water for liquid refreshment, or even poured over crushed ice and served as a slush in a wax-paper cone. Whatever the form, the basic notion is essence of fruit. Watermelon ice is delicious served with cookies for a dessert: Mexican wedding cookies, lime cookies or chocolate cookies are all ideal.

Ingredients:

(serves 4)

8 oz/ 200g long-grain white rice

1 medium onion, trimmed, peeled and quartered

2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1 medium green pepper (capsicum or bell pepper), deseeded and quartered

2 green chillies, trimmed and halved

3 large Cos lettuce leaves (or a handful of spinach leaves), roughly chopped

1 oz/ 25g fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 oz/ 25g fresh coriander (cilantro)

½ to ¾ pint/ 275 to 450 ml water

Salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons corn oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat the grill on medium heat.

2. Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Soak in absolute minimum amount of cold water while you prepare the ingredients for this dish.

3. Place the onion, garlic, green pepper and chillies under the grill, turning them from time to time with tongs, until they are soft and blistered and have black patches on their surfaces.

4. Remove from the grill, and cool a little. Peel off the skin from the green pepper.

5. In a food processor, finely grind the grilled vegetables with the lettuce, parsley, and coriander. Add the water and seasoning, and whizz until you have a fairly thick sauce of pourable consistency. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. (Bear in mind that it should have a little more salt and pepper than you would like because you haven’t added the rice yet).

6. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Drain the rice thoroughly and add it to the pan. Sautee until the grains are shiny and translucent.

7. Add the green vegetable sauce to the rice, and mix well.

8. Lower the heat to minimum, cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and cook the rice for around 20 minutes. Do not open the lid while the rice is cooking, do not disturb the rice, do not fluff it up, do nothing – just leave it be.

9. After 20 minutes or so, check to see that the grains have absorbed the sauce and indentations have appeared on the surface of the rice. If not, leave it on very low heat for a little while longer.

10. Remove from heat, and let the rice stand with the lid on for 10 minutes. Then fluff it up, and serve hot.

Note: This delicious recipe is for the classic Mexican arroz verde – a wonderful accompaniment to all kinds of tortilla and bean dishes. Or you can make a meal of it with the addition of some protein such as fried eggs or grilled white cheese, accompanied by a few slices of avocadoes.

Ingredients:

(Makes 32 brochettes.)

* 1 ripe mango , cut into chunks

* 1 ripe banana , cut into chunks

* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

* 4 cloves garlic

* 1 tablespoon salt

* 2 teaspoons chili or ancho chili powder

* 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

* 1/2 cup fresh lime juice

* 1/2 cup tequila (white or dark)

* 2kg skinless boneless chicken breasts

* 2 limes , halved

* 2 tablespoons pink peppercorns , crushed

* 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds , coarsely chopped

* Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Method:

In a blender or food processor with knife blade attached, puree mango, banana, brown sugar, garlic, salt, chili powder and white pepper until smooth. Add lime juice and tequila and process until blended.

Cut chicken breasts crosswise on a slight diagonal into 2 cm-wide strips. Divide between 2 plastic refrigerator bags; add 1 cup marinade to each bag and seal. Turn bags to coat chicken evenly. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours. While chicken marinates, cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

In a small saucepan, bring reserved marinade to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Drain chicken in a colander. Thread onto presoaked bamboo skewers. Spray a grill pan with nonstick spray and heat until hot. Grill chicken skewers in batches, about 2 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Or broil skewers 4 minutes, turning once halfway through. Arrange on platters. Hit chicken with a squeeze of lime. Drizzle with cooked marinade; sprinkle with peppercorns and pumpkin seeds. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Note: These brochettes can be cooked a day in advance and refrigerated; bring to room temperature, then garnish and serve. The longer the chicken marinates, the better it tastes. Soak bamboo skewers at least one hour before grilling.

Ingredients:

( Serves 8 )

* 1 small white onion , cut into chunks

* 1 large clove garlic , peeled

* 1 large red bell pepper , cored, seeded and cut into chunks

* 1,5kg  mixed tomatoes , halved and seeded, and 1 Green Zebra or other green tomato , cut into 8 wedges, for garnish

* 2 to 3 cups tomato juice

* 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

* 2 teaspoons  salt , plus more to taste

* 1 teaspoon black pepper , plus more to taste

* Pinch cayenne pepper , plus more to taste

* 1/4 cup olive oil , for drizzling

Method:

In a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with knife blade, mince onion and garlic until almost pureed. Transfer to a large bowl. Place bell pepper in bowl of food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add tomatoes in batches and continue to pulse until almost pureed.

Transfer tomato-pepper mixture to bowl containing onion and garlic mixture. Stir in 2 cups tomato juice. Mixture should have the consistency of thick soup; to make thinner, add 1 more cup juice. Stir in vinegar, salt, pepper and cayenne. Refrigerate until chilled. Adjust seasoning to taste before serving.

To serve, pour into individual glasses. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish each glass with a tomato wedge.

Guacamole, a dip made from avocados, is originally from Mexico. The name is derived from two Aztec Nahuatl words – ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (sauce). The trick to perfect guacamole is using good, ripe avocados. Check for ripeness by gently pressing the outside of the avocado. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe yet and will not taste good. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe. If there is a lot of give, the avocado may be past ripe and not good. In this case, taste test first before using.
This recipe gives smooth dip and spread guacamole with rich flavour.

Method:

1 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl of a food processor.

2 Add all other ingredients and process until smooth.

Remember that much of this is done to taste because of the variability in the ingredients. Start with this recipe and adjust to your taste.

3 Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.

Serves 4.