Chef Tilly’s Mexican Spice Mix

Monday, December 05, 2011

... here's a recipe for something I use everyweek...

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Tilly Auriel is a chef. She’s worked in various restaurants in the San Francisco area, catered weddings and divorces, and recently was hired as a personal chef for James and Kendra Edwards who were recently married in a lavish ceremony at Grace Cathedral. You can read about her comedic, romantic adventures in: Tilly, Personal Chef, a soon-to-be-released book. In the meantime, she is guest blogging on cooking. Today’s entry is about her Mexican spice mix.

If you like to make tacos or fajitas (chicken, beef), you can buy packets of spice mixes from the grocery store. They’ll give you that authentic flavour you find in restaurants, but they are expensive. A cheaper alternative is to buy the individual spices and make the mix yourself. This recipe gives you enough mix to last a few months and it’s easier to make this batch once then do it every time you cook.

Here are the key ingredients:

60 ml Chilli powder
10 ml Cumin, ground
20 ml Garlic powder
20 ml Onion powder
20 ml Chilli flakes

Simply combine the ingredients in an jar and give the mix a good shack until it’s all blended.

I sprinkle a spoonful for each serving while cooking. Four servings, four spoonfuls. Adjust to your taste.

This is my basic spice mix, but there are ways to take it to a different level. If you want to add more heat, add in 10 ml of ground cayenne pepper. Careful though, it’s hot and can overpower the overall mix. Try only 5 ml and add more to your taste.

Other options include: Paprika(10 ml), Dried Oregano (10 ml), other dried peppers.

Note: I’m pretty sure 5 ml is 1 teaspoon and 15 ml is 1 tablespoon, but you might want to check.

Enjoy.

Posted 2011/12/05 at 14h28ET in Cooking.