Tomorrow and the day after are celebrated by Mexicans as the Day of the Dead, an annual remembrance of lost loved ones. Typically for Mexico, life, death, love and food are viewed as intrinsically inter-related, so 1-2 November is a great excuse to cook a feast for friends and family. Next Saturday, Wahaca is putting on its own Day of the Dead festival in east London, with bands, DJs, food and art. Here are two recipes to mark the occasion.
Korean pork belly with red cabbage, apple slaw and avocado cream
The fusion of Korean and Mexican food now found all over the US is hugely exciting, because both cuisines share a love of bold, vibrant flavours. This dish involves a bit of preparation the day before, but not much. Serves four to six.
750g pork belly
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 small thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, unpeeled, roughly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp gochuchang (Korean chilli paste)
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
Tortillas (preferably corn), to serve
For the slaw
½ small red cabbage, thinly shredded
2 green apples, cored and cut into matchsticks
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1½ tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1 small bunch coriander, leaves and stems, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp sesame oil
For the avocado cream
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
2 avocados
Juice of 1 lime (but have a second lime handy, just in case)
The day before you want to eat, put the pork belly in a pan in which it fits snugly. Add the spices, ginger, garlic and a teaspoon of salt, pour in cold water to cover by a few inches and weigh down the meat with a plate or lid. Bring to a boil, then simmer very gently for two and a half to three hours, until the meat is so tender that a skewer slides through easily. Leave to cool in the cooking liquid, then refrigerate overnight.
The next day, heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Lift the pork from the liquid, pat dry and cut into 1cm slices. Put in a bowl with the gochuchang and sugar, and rub all over. Line a baking tray with tin foil, grease with vegetable oil and lay out the pork slices so they do not touch. Season with a little salt and roast for 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to caramelise.
Mix the slaw ingredients and season to taste. Blitz the ingredients for the avocado cream to a smooth sauce; add the juice of the second lime if the flavours need sharpening.
Briefly warm the tortillas in a hot pan, put them in a basket and wrap in a tea-towel to keep warm. Leave your guests to pile their tortillas with slaw, slices of pork, avocado cream and your favourite hot sauce.
Baked pumpkin cheesecake with candied pumpkin seeds
The amount of liquid in pumpkins and squashes varies wildly, so for this aim for a batter with a thick, double cream consistency. Serves eight to 10.
600g pumpkin (or squash), peeled, deseeded and cut into 4cm chunks (net weight)
75g butter
250g ginger biscuits
1 egg white
600g cream cheese
150g creme fraiche
250g golden caster sugar
Salt
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
4 eggs
2 tbsp cornflour, sieved
For the candied seeds
100g pumpkin seeds
7 tbsp icing sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
Steam the pumpkin for half an hour, until tender. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and line the base and sides of a 21cm cake tin with parchment paper. Melt the butter in a small pan. Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin to turn into coarse crumbs. Stir into the melted butter, then tip into the lined cake tin and press down and into the edges. Brush with egg white and bake for eight minutes, until golden and set, then remove. Turn down the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2.
Beat the cooled pumpkin with the paddle attachment of a food mixer until smooth (or pass it through a sieve). Beat in the cream cheese, creme fraiche, sugar, a pinch of salt, spices, ginger and, one by one, the eggs. Fold in the cornflour, then tip over the biscuit base. Bake for 75 minutes, until the top has begun to colour and the middle has just a slight wobble. Leave to cool, then refrigerate for at least three hours.
Put all the ingredients for the seeds in a pan with a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring, on medium-high heat until the sugar melts and the seeds begin to pop. Add a dash of water and carry on cooking until the mixture darkens and caramelises. Spread across a parchment-lined baking tray and leave to cool.
When you’re ready to eat, break up the candied seeds, sprinkle over the top of the chilled cake and serve.
And for the rest of the week…
I always make twice as many caramelised pumpkin seeds as I need, because I love them on my morning yoghurt or muesli. The avocado cream keeps in the fridge for only a few days, so use up any excess by spooning it into sandwiches and wraps. Any leftover pork is delicious cold, perhaps with a sesame, coriander and peanut noodle salad, while the slaw will act as a tasty base for a salad made with any veg you’ve got languishing in the crisper.
Thomasina Miers is co-owner of the Wahaca group of Mexican restaurants.
Join Thomasina Miers and Wahaca’s Day of the Dead fiesta at Tobacco Dock, London E1, on 7 November; go to wahaca.co.uk/dotd for details.
