Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico’s unlikely victory against the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. While locally the victory is mostly celebrated in Puebla, where the battle took place, Cinco de Mayo has become an international celebration of Mexican culture. So, how can you bring a flavour of Mexico to your 5th of May? We’ve collected some amazing traditional Mexican recipes for you to try.
Traditional Cinco de Mayo Chalupas
Image courtesy of allfortheboys.com
Chalupas are an iconic street food in the Puebla region of Mexico. So iconic, in fact, that you’ll find versions of them served in top restaurants as well as on the streets. Traditional Chalupas are essentially thick, fried tortillas topped with salsa, chopped onion, and sometimes cheese. You can also add shredded meat if you want to – a great way to use up leftovers from a roast! This recipe serves four people – so two Chalupas each – which makes it a perfect, budget-friendly light meal.
What you’ll need (4 servings)
- A pack of 8 small tortilla wraps – we think Old El Paso ones are the perfect size
- A jar of tomato salsa
- 250g crumbled queso fresco, or feta works too, if you can’t get queso fresco
- 500g leftover roast chicken, shredded
- Coriander to garnish
- Vegetable or sunflower oil
How to make it
In a large frying pan (big enough that you can fit a whole flat tortilla into it), add a generous slug of oil so that the whole bottom of the pan is covered about 5mm deep. Heat on a medium-high temperature until the oil is hot but not smoking.
When the oil is the right temperature, lay a tortilla on the oil – it’ll float – and cook it for about a minute, until it starts bubbling.
Spread a few teaspoons of salsa around the tortilla but not quite to the edge, as if it were a pizza base. Cook for 2-3 more minutes until the edges of the tortilla are crisp.
Line a tray with paper towels and transfer the cooked tortilla to it. This will absorb excess oil from your Chalupas.
Repeat the frying and salsa process with each of your tortillas.
Divide your shredded chicken evenly between your tortillas, and sprinkle the queso fresco or feta over the top.
Garnish with coriander leaves and more salsa, if you like.
Mole Poblano
Image courtesy of The Seattle Times
Mole Poblano is 1. Not made from moles (mole is pronounced like you’d say it in guacamole) and 2. Pretty tricky to make, but so worth it. It’s definitely a dish for a weekend where you have plenty of time to cook. Traditional Cinco de Mayo recipes for Mole Poblano use over 20 ingredients including several types of chilli, and chocolate! We’ve simplified it a bit though, to make it kinder to your kitchen, and your wallet!
What you’ll need (4 servings)
6 medium dried ancho chillies
1/2 a tablespoon of sesame seeds
3 tablespoons of blanched, flaked almonds
2 tablespoons of raisins
1 white onion, finely chopped
1/2 a teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 a teaspoon of dried oregano
500ml – 750ml of chicken stock
2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of chopped Mexican chocolate, or if you can’t get hold of this, 2 tablespoons of chopped dark chocolate with an extra 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon will do the trick
A whole chicken, already roasted and cut into portions
How to make it
Heat a frying pan (with no oil in it) and toast the dried chillies for 20 – 30 seconds on each side until they become fragrant and start to soften. Don’t let them scorch.
Allow the chillies to cool a little, then remove and discard the stems and seeds. Tear what’s left of the chillies into small pieces, place them in a bowl and cover them with very hot water for 30 minutes.
While the chillies are soaking, toast the sesame seeds in the same pan you used for the chillies, until they turn golden brown.
Add the sesame seeds to a food processor, along with the almonds, raisins, onion, cinnamon, oregano, the chillies (once soaked and drained) and about 150ml of chicken stock. Whiz for about 2 minutes, then pour into a bowl and blitz with a stick blender for a further 2 minutes, adding a little more stock if you need to. The mixture should be thick but totally smooth, but if it isn’t, you can strain it through a sieve.
Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and add the mole paste. Cook it, stirring constantly, until most of the liquid has evaporated and it becomes shiny.
Then, bit at a time, stir in the rest of the chicken stock, and add the sugar. The mixture will be quite thin at this point, but that’s OK.
Simmer the mole sauce until it thickens until about the consistency of a milkshake – liquid, but thick. Add the salt, and melt in the chocolate.
Serve over portions of the cooked chicken, and enjoy!
Huevos Rancheros
Image courtesy of BBC Good Food
Kick your Cinco de Mayo off in style with this traditional Mexican breakfast dish. It’s rich in protein and will keep you nice and full all morning and beyond. Plus, at £1.13 per serving, it’s a fantastic budget-friendly crowd pleaser.
What you’ll need (1 serving)
1 tablespoon of vegetable or sunflower oil
200g black beans, drained
1 tortilla wrap
Juice of half a lime
1 egg
50g feta, crumbled
1/2 a ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
Hot chilli sauce – if you can get cholula, this is authentically Mexican, but otherwise Sriracha is great. Just avoid using a sweet chilli sauce!
How to make it
In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a high heat. Ad the tortilla and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side until going crispy at the edges. Transfer to a plate.
With the pan still on the heat, crack the egg into the pan and cook. If you’re not a fan of fried eggs, you can scramble the egg in the pan, too.
Tip the beans into a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and add a squeeze of lime. Lightly mash the beans with a fork.
To serve, spread the beans over the fried tortilla, top with the egg, avocado, feta and chilli sauce. Delicious!
Happy Cinco de Mayo… or Revenge of the Fifth depending which way you’re inclined!
