Wahaca in Covent Garden gives out little pink and blue matchbooks when they give you the bill. These matchbooks don't actually contain matches, they contain little paper spikes of chilli seeds, with directions on how to grow them. It's a very cute gimmick.Last year our Wahaca seeds came to nothing - the seedlings were ready to get going but then there was a hot day and they all died in the conservatory.
This year - barring a couple of cat-related accidents - the chillies have flourished.
According to Wiki, ripe Serrano chillies (which the matchbook said these were) can be green, red, brown, orange or yellow. Which makes it slightly difficult to tell when they are ripe! So we decided that when they had stayed the same size for a fortnight, and the green was streaked around the shoulders with purple, that they were ripe.
My reading indicated that the fleshy Serrano is the ultimate salsa chilli, so for its first outing, I decided to use it in some guacamole.
A little slice off the end of it indicated that they had a bit of a kick, but not too much, so I used a whole one, with 2 avocadoes, a pinch of salt, a load of lime juice and some finely diced onion. I'd usually add coriander and some diced tomato or cucumber to a guac, but I wanted the chilli to be the star of the show.Dolloped onto a turkey chilli (Tex-Mex style - quite saucy and no beans) with grated cheese and blue corn chips, it was a quick and easy meal. And the home-grown chillies were definitely the star of the show.
12 comments:
So what goes into Turkey Chilli without beans?
I've tried growing chillies a few times but haven't succeeded yet - the slugs like them too much!
I like the idea of giving out seeds with the bill, much better than matches! What di you think of the restaurant? I've been thinking I'd like to go to Wahaca if I'm ever in London.
Mother - turkey mince, bought chilli seasoning, a can of chopped tomatoes and some extra passata to make it soupy.
Sam - I don't think we could do it outdoors. I am not sure they are frost resistant, aside from the slugs! Would recommend Wahaca. I haven't been to the one at Westfield, but I go to the Covent Garden one often. I'm going again on Friday!
It's definitely the season for guacamole! It's great that you have been able to grow your own Serranos, and as a native Texan, I applaud your bean-less chili (not everyone knows that beans have no place in Texas chili)! Sounds like a wonderful meal :)
Am dead impressed with the growing!
Sarah - glad you approve!
Jude - they have done really, really well in the conservatory.
Beautiful plants and your photo looks like a restaurant serving. Bravo!
We've had a bumper crop of peppers this year so most of it has ended up pickled
Rachel - thank you! You flatter me.
Kat - pickled is a good idea. I like pickled chillies.
How cool is that! What an awesome gimmick...your guac looks delicious!
What a fun thing to get with the bill and cool how you were able to grow some peppers too. I was just craving turkey chili--it looks great!
Thanks girlie!
Deb - I am starting to prefer turkey for my chilli. Although beef is good!
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