Rick Stein: The Road to Mexico: 120 Vibrant Recipes from California and Mexico

Product Information

Add the remaining lard or oil to the pan and fry the onion for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the cumin, oregano, allspice and bay leaf. Cook for 2 minutes. Combine the sugar cumin, smoked paprika and salt and rub all over the pork, working it into the scored skin. Leave at room temperature for half an hour or in the fridge overnight.

So run home I did. I marked the slow cooked stews (Beef Barbecoa with Chipotle, Garlic & Oregano, I’m coming for you) and myriad of feasting recipes for a later date and flipped straight to the Street Food chapter, for speedy craving satisfaction. In the same pan, add about 1tbsp of oil and brown the beef in batches, setting it all to one side when you’re done. You might need to add more oil as you go.

Ingredients

To make the pico de gallo, mix all the ingredients together with ½ teaspoon of salt in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to l60°C/gas mark 3. Heat the oil in a large lidded casserole pan over a medium-high heat, and brown the pork on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and add the onions, garlic, chillies and green pepper Sauté until beginning to char then add the vinegar and tomatoes and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan. This is a sumptuous, relaxing dish perfect for a dinner party as you can make it ahead of time and have everything ready for whenever everyone’s ready to eat. Important: don’t taste this sauce yet. It will put you off, make you think you’ve wasted your time and induce much anger. It tastes like sour over-brewed tea. The tomatoes have to cook more and the beef will infuse beautifully. Give it time. Make the honeycomb first. Grease a baking tray with the butter and set it aside. Put the golden syrup and caster sugar in a large saucepan and let it dissolve over a low heat until you can’t see the sugar crystals. Turn up the heat and cook until the mixture is a deep caramel colour. Turn off the heat and immediately add the bicarbonate of soda. Stir to mix well while it bubbles and foams, then pour the mixture on to the greased baking tray and leave it to cool for 1–1½ hours. Break it into shards and store in an airtight container between sheets of baking parchment for up to a week.Toast the chillies in a frying pan on a high heat for about 20 seconds until fragrant but not burnt. Place them in a bowl and cover with boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Heat a tablespoon of lard or oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown one third of the beef. Transfer to a plate and then repeat until all the beef has browned, adding another tablespoon of lard or oil as needed.