Recipes From Lupe Pintos

On Wednesday, On The Side introduced you to Dougie Bell of Lupe Pintos. Between them, he and his partner Rhoda Robertson have produced three excellent cook books, coveriing a broad range of cuisine from Mexico through the southern states of the USA and on to the Caribbean. The fourth in the series, The Mexican Wrestlers Cookbook was produced in collaboration with Mexican Rolando Cardenas, AKA KANKUN Luchador.

Here are a couple of recipes to tempt your appetite. Any ingredients with which you're not familiar can be bought at Lupe Pintos.

Ceviche Tostadas - from The Mexican Wrestlers Cookbook

Ingredients

250g white fish fillet, cut into small chunks; 200g small cooked prawns (defrosted); juice of 4 limes, enough to cover the fish; 1 tsp ground coriander; 4 tbsp KANKUN jalapeno hot sauce; 2 tbsp olive oil; 4 spring onions, finely chopped; 6 baby tomatoes, chopped into chunks; a handful of chopped fresh coriander; corn tortillas fried crisp into tostadas or tostada baskets (you can get these precooked): s&p.

To garnish

Avocado slices; lime wedges; chopped coriander; shredded lettuce.

************************************************

Put the lime juice, olive oil, hot sauce and ground coriander into a bowl. Add the fish and prawns and mix, ensuring that the fish is covered with the marinade. Set aside for an hour or so. The lime juice will pickle the fish.

Add the tomatoes, spring onions and fresh coriander. Season with salt and pepper and mix together. Put some shredded lettuce on each tostada and top with the cevich. Garnish with avocado, more coriander, and serve with a lime wedge.

Curry Goat - from The Half Canned Cookbook

This book begins with Dougie having a rant at people who turn up their noses at anything which comes out of a bottle or a can, or which isn't fresh. Open the cupboards of any professional kitchen, he points out, and you'll find jars of olives and capers, bottles of soy, of hot sauces, of vinegars, processed foods all. Well said, sir.

I selected this recipe for two reasons. Firstly, in including a celebrated Caribbean recipe, Dougie is demonstrating the range of his repertoire. Bizarrely, I've never visited, but I believe it is one of the world's spiciest cuisines.

Secondly, I've always fancied making it. Dougie advises using mutton if you can't find goat. My daughter Rosie's Indian pal Gorav tells us that if in India you see mutton on a menu, you are almost certainly going to be served goat.

Ingredients

500g goat meat, cubed; 2 cloves of crushed garlic; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 2 or 3 drops of Scotch bonnet sauce; 1 tbsp Tex's exotic curry mix; 50g butter and a little vegetable oil; 200ml coconut milk (optional); s & p.

************************************************

Make a marinade by puréeing the garlic, tomatoes, onion and hot sauce. Add this to the meat and marinade, preferably overnight, but for at least a few hours. Brown the meat in butter and oil, Return the marinade too the pan, add water or coconut milk and simmer for about two hours, or until the meat is tender. Season to taste. If using coconut milk, do not allow the mixture to boil.