England doesn’t really have a ‘national dish’ anymore (even the Sunday roast has been taken over by the Balti curry – born in Birmingham!) This means we have a melting pot of delicious cuisines to choose from. However, buying ready-made supermarket meals (or eating out all the time) gets mighty expensive, and most cuisines also base their meals around animal products. So this is one of a series of posts, to help you find the skills and ingredients to make your own plant-based versions of your favourite foods.
This recipe for vegan Mexican taquitos (Ela Vegan) is a plant-based take on popular snacks that usually are stuffed with meat and cheese, then deep-fried. These beauties contain lots of veggies and optional vegan mince, and can also be made in the air-fryer. Likely 1000 times less calories!
Never eat rice after 24 hours (a food poison hazard). Before cooking, read up on keeping people & pets safe in the kitchen (many ‘human foods’ including salt, spices, jackfruit, avocado and chocolate are unsafe near animal friends).
Mexican food is some of the tastiest on earth, but also a cuisine to make you fat! Packed with meat, cheese and sour cream (washed down with margaritas), the desserts are also rich from chocolate-chilli tarts to coffee flans and tres leches cake. But the good news is that we can replicate a lot of those items with healthy cholesterol-free alternatives that taste just as good, and many staple ingredients (beans, chillies, fresh fruits) are also plant-based by default. Avocado has controversy at present over ethics (simply sub with smashed peas!)
sweet potato chilli (with pinto beans)
This sweet potato chilli (Rainbow Plant Life) is sure to become a weeknight favourite. Everyone needs a good chilli recipe in their repertoire, even Lt. Columbo couldn’t solve cases, without one. This recipe uses the humble sweet potato, which has more nutrients than white potatoes, and a lower glycemic index. It’s actually got a lovely flavour for curries, as it’s obviously naturally sweet. Look in stores for Mr Organic rice (in paper packaging).
a refreshing agua de fresca drink
Agua fresca (Broke Bank Vegan) is the national drink of Mexico, which you can sub with more local fruits (like strawberries) if wished. It’s a chilled mix of fresh fruits, sugar and water (so far better for you than our fake-sugar tins of coke etc). You don’t need expensive blenders to make such drinks, a £50 Russell Hobbs blender (with a glass jug) is just as good (it’s also easy to clean, so won’t sit in the cupboard!) Avoid unpasteurised juice during pregnancy/nursing.
a (kind of local) margarita recipe
Margaritas are of course Mexican, but this apple cider margarita (Crowded Kitchen) blends Latin American food cultures with ours. It only needs 5 ingredients (and takes 5 minutes to make) and is sweetened with maple syrup, and garnished with a cinnamon sugar rim. Tequila does not usually have a ‘worm in the bottle’ but is cousin mezcal may do (so avoid).
the best plant-based Mexican recipe books
La Vida Verde is by a Mexican-American caterer in LA. Amaze your tastebuds with Queso Fresco (fresh cheese), Árbol chiles with tomatillo, Handmade tortillas, Tortilla soup with cream and Mushrooms in green mole.
Provecho offers authentic recipes by a man who grew up in Oakland (California) as a first-generation Mexican American who spent countless hours cooking alongside female relatives, with recipes passed through notes. He’s now recreated these recipes, with Salvadoran and Colombian influences: Slow-simmered soups & stews, Empanadas, tamales, quesadillos, tacos, Cinnamon pancakes & breakfast burritos, Salsas, salads, ceviches and spicy tamarind juice.
Sugar Taco at Home offers recipes from a women-owned LA restaurant that’s ditching meat and dairy for juicy jackfruit, perfectly-seasoned seitan, house-made queso and more. Recipes include Sugar Taco Carne Asada, Meaty mushroom enchilades verdes, Tofu chilaquiles and Tres leches cake.
interesting lessons to learn from Mexico
Mexico is one of the world’s biggest countries and by far one its most populous. With an interesting ancient history, today Mexico City is one of the world’s most populated cities. Many people have come from villages to find work, leading to huge issues with overpopulation, air and water pollution. Although huge efforts are being made to try to do something about it.
Mexico could learn a lot of from other countries. Because despite being home to over 200,000 different species of wildlife and plants, just 2500 are protected with legislation and after Brazil, it has the world’s highest levels of deforestation (so less habitats for wildlife). We can help by purchasing recycled wood, paper and bathroom tissue, along with sustainable soy (and avoiding rainforest beef).
And despite not making much use of it, Mexico is the world’s third-best country potentially for solar energy. Just like wind turbines (which can kill birds and bats if not properly designed and installed), in warmer countries especially it’s important to use the right kind of solar panels (the wrong ones can incinerate wildlife). Barn Owl Trust writes that ground-level solar panels don’t appear to be as harmful as tall solar towers.