Poor Italy, Viva Mexico and an improvised Vegetarian Mexican dinner

Well, Italy is out of the World Cup, and I am just glad that I didn't get up at 4 am to watch it happen!

But before the games started the four members of our family picked another nation to support (random, out of a hat) and I got Mexico! You had to dress up, cook something and learn some facts and words from that country… I was lucky! I speak enough Spanish, I like Mexican food, I have been there, and my husband was going there for work that week! So he bought me back a Mexican team T-shirts (looks good) and also some tequila, some Mexican sweets and a cute little piñata donkey. 

Now a part from the sweets (some had milk) the dinner was actually Vegan and just improvised with what I had in the house. I also used tofu, instead of meat. I rubbed the tofu in a mixure of chili, salt, oregano (oregano seems to be the only dried herb really used all over Mexico, although the name is approximative - there are several varieties!) dried coriadner, cumin and smoked paprika. The doses were totally random! Then I sautéed the tofu with a little olive oil. I kept the tofu aside and used the same pot (with the very spicy oil) to sauté some chopped celery and onions, I added some rice, then a can of red beans, and finally a couple of cups of vegetable stock. Lid on and cooked the rice by absorption. In the end I added the tofu, just to warm it up.

For the Guacamole I followed this recipe, with the difference that I didn't have fresh coriander at home, but I used a bit of chili (I always have chili in the freezer). Also because this was a really rushed job (and I had the whole chili, seeds removed) I blended everything with an immersion blender. Quite different texture really, but nice for a change. The tortilla chips came from a packet. Well, this dinner took me 40 minutes to make (including cooking time), so Viva Mexico!!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©