“Mexican” Butternut Hummus

 

Okay, I know – hummus isn’t Mexican! But I wanted to make a hummus that is just a little more spicy than the norm.

I have made Butternut Hummus before – see “Roasted Butternut Hummus” posted on Life is Too Short to Eat Lettuce and it being butternut season and me simply loving butternut (see all my Butternut Recipes), I thought I’ll whip up another batch!

So, here goes

150g cooked, mashed butternut

1 tin of chickpeas, drained

5ml sesame oil (my shortcut instead of tahini)

1 tablespoon jalapeno slices (more or less according to your taste)

A squirt of lime juice

1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed chillies

Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend it all together with a stick blender and voila!

Good to let it stand for a few hours for the flavours to develop.

Obviously I’m craving HEAT because I added few jalapeno slices when serving!

Mexican Corn & Samp Salad (with Citrus Dressing)

Okay, this was VERY experimental!  I haven’t even HEARD of a samp salad before 🙂 But inspiration hit (while looking for a new ‘carb’ option to try) and this is what transpired.

Dressing: (leave to infuse a bit).  By the way, this salad can be made in advance, just add the tomatoes and salt just before serving otherwise it becomes soggy.

Okay, where was I…  yes, the dressing (mix it all together):

1oml olive oil

2 TBSP freshly squeezed orange juice

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS White Wine Vinegar

1/4 tsp fresh garlic

A dash of cayenne pepper

A dash of ground cumin

Then,

Mix together (or pack in layers if preferred):

200g corn kernels (I used frozen corn, covered with boiling water and left to stand for 10 minutes, no need to cook)

140g cooked samp (I cooked this in advance, because it does take a while to cook – and then left to cool)

200g red kidney beans (tinned and drained)

100g chopped tomato

50g chopped onion

100g chopped mixed peppers (I used green and red)

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Pour dressing over, and voila!  I actually wanted to add some fresh coriander as well, but realised I was all out.  Next time 🙂

 

WL Breakdown, serves 2 (LARGE portions), 1 Serve = 2 CC, 1 Prot, 1.5 Veg, 1 Fat

 

 

 

 

Mexican Rice Salad

70g cooked brown/wild rice

100g corn kernels

10og cherry tomatoes

50g chopped green pepper

130g tinned baked beans (drained, so that it isn’t too ‘saucy’)

5ml lemon infused olive oil (or just add a few drops of lemon juice to plain olive oil)

a sprinkling of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper

Salt and Pepper to taste

This salad is lovely and colourful!  You can pack it in layers in a clear bowl, or mix it all together, served on a bed of lettuce like I did 🙂

Serves 1: 2 CC, 1 Prot, 1.5 Veg, 1 Fat