189. Mexican Inspired Cottage Pie

This Tuesday was Cinco de Mayo, a day in which Mexican's celebrate an army victory, and what better way to celebrate halfway across the world in wet old England, than with some Mexican food?!

As both S and I are huge Mexican food fans anyway (check out my review of Zapatista Burrito Bar in Newcastle if you are too!) we don't really need an excuse to cook up a Mexican inspired feast so Tuesday night was as good a time as any to try out a new dish!

I didn't fancy a trip to the shops in the rain so instead I made do with what we had in the house and improvised to create a Mexican Inspired Cottage Pie. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1lb/450g mince (I used half Quorn mince, half Aberdeen Angus mince)

1 x onion, diced

1 x pepper, diced

1 x handful of frozen peas

1 x tin of chopped tomatoes/passatta 

1kg potatoes (I used Maris Piper but any would do)

Kidney (or baked) beans

Oil for frying

1 x tablespoon of butter for mashed potatoes

100ml milk for mashed potatoes

80g Mexican cheese (or just use a strong Cheddar if you have chilli flakes)

Seasoning (add more or less depending on your personal tastes)

Black pepper

3tsp Ceviche seasoning

2tsp Cumin

2tsp Very Lazy Chilli

2tsp Paprika

2tsp Hot Steak spice

Jalapenos (to top)

A squirt of tomato ketchup

I used the Gourmet Kitchen 4-in-1 Mexican Seasoning Mix (available from The Range)

Method

1. Brown your mince in a large frying pan, once cooked add the onions and peppers and cook until soft

2. Once the peppers and onions have softened, put your potatoes on to boil

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, frozen peas, beans and any seasoning you fancy to the frying pan

4. Leave the chilli to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through

5. Mash the potatoes with the milk, butter and about 2/3 of the cheese until creamy

6. Pour the chilli into a deep baking dish and spoon the mashed potato on top

7. Garnish with the left over cheese and jalapenos, if desired

8. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees (fan oven) or 200 degrees conventional oven, for 20-30 minutes or until golden on top

9. Serve with salad

This dish should serve around 4 people. Or 2-3 people with big appetites!

156. Zapatista Burrito Bar

Hello lovelies.

On Monday, S and I ventured into Newcastle for an appointment at the hospital, and decided we'd treat ourselves afterwards. A month or so ago, we had passed Zapatista Burrito Bar, on Grainger Street, on our way to the train station and, after checking out the mouth-watering Mexican menu. vowed to return soon to try it out for size. And that's exactly what we did.

Situated just a couple of minutes from both the centre of town and the train station, Zapatista is in the perfect location for both people visiting Newcastle for the day, or people nipping out for a quick and tasty bite to eat on their lunch break.

The interior of Zapatista is also an awesome touch. It's modern, stylish and cool. The tables are high, with colourful bar stools to perch on, and the upstairs seating area has an almost communal feel to it which I think is great as it means they can cater for larger groups, as well as creating a relaxed, casual atmosphere even if you're just there by yourself or as a couple, amongst other groups and couples. 

We arrived at around 12:30pm and, although there were a few tables taken up, it didn't take long to get served. We made our way to the counter where we could see all the delicious, fresh fillings in front of us, and checked out the menu before deciding what to order. I went for the shredded chilli beef burrito, with rice, mild (Pinto) beans, hot (tomato, chipotle and chilli) salsa and a touch of lettuce and cheese. 

The burritos are made right in front of your eyes by friendly, helpful staff who were more than happy to answer our questions and were very patient as we spent quite a while deciding what to go for! S also went for the shredded chilli beef burrito but with spicy (Black Turtle) beans and one of the milder salsas instead. 

We opted for large 7Up's to go with our burritos as we, quite rightly, anticipated they might be a little spicy! Thankfully, we both love spicy food (I've been known to add coriander or chillies to almost every savoury dish I prepare) and we managed to work (believe me, these burritos are big!) through our meal within about 15 or 20 minutes and we were still able to walk, despite being full to burst! 

Our entire meal cost just £12.60 for the two burritos and two large drinks. If burritos aren't really your cup of tea, Zapatista offer a range of dishes from fajitas to tacos to chilli and rice. They even have churros which according to New Girl in Toon are delicious. We will definitely be trying them out next time!