You will find here my versions of classic Mexican and Southwestern USA dishes. If you want authentic recipes using traditional ingredients then try my Hotlinks page on The Curry House where you'll find a host of cooking sites. My recipes are all made using ingredients that are readily available from the larger British supermarkets.

The main problem with ingredients is getting the correct varieties of dried chiles which is not so easy in the UK. So my recipes use a combination of good quality paprika and chile powder as a substitute for reconstituted dried chiles. Of course, that means you aren't getting the variety of tastes that come from the different types of dried chile but the end result is still pretty good. Some recipes call for the dried chiles to be roasted first to bring out their flavour. I get round this by frying the paprika and chile powder before adding any liquid. Other substitutions are noted in the recipes.

Fortunately, you can now get a whole host of fresh chiles in the larger British supermarkets. My local Sainsbury's regularly has the fleshy cone-shaped Kenyan (Fresno), Thai Bird's Eye, Habanero and Cayenne types and from time to time Scotch Bonnet, Anaheim, Caribe and others.

My spelling conforms to Chile-Head lore, namely :-

chile - is the hot fruit of the capsicum plant

chili - is the dish traditionally made from meat and chiles

chilli - is the UK spelling of chile

(but often confusingly used for chili as well)

What you won't find here is a recipe for that gloopy mess served in cheap restaurants and pubs as "chilli con carne". Even amongst devotees there's disagreement on whether to put beans in chili but the nicest recipes I've found don't. If you like beans with your chili I'd recommend making some refried beans and serving them on the side.

So there you go amigos try a bit of Mexican cooking at the old hacienda tonight.

Well, hacienda the introduction (groan) so here are the recipes -