Created by Kiwi taco king and queen Otis and Sarah Frizzell of The Lucky Taco food truck and company, 03 samples some spicy little recipes fresh from the colourful foodie duo’s delicious new book.
Recipes Sarah & Otis Frizzell | Photos Victoria Baldwin
CHEESY HIBISCUS QUESADILLAS
We ate these in Mexico in a wee taquería in Oaxaca. We weren’t super hungry and hadn’t ordered
any food, but these just arrived with our drinks. And they were a very welcome delight!
Makes 2
½ cup dried hibiscus flowers (buy online from Tío Pablo at tiopablo.co.nz)
2 handfuls of grated mild cheddar
4 good-quality flour tortillas
Handful of coriander, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
Lucky Taco chilli salt (Click here to view recipe)
Queso fresco (Click here to view recipe)
To rehydrate hibiscus flowers, bring a small pot of water to the boil. Add flowers and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove flowers with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Sprinkle cheddar over the surface of one tortilla. Roughly chop hibiscus flowers and scatter on top of cheese.
Scatter coriander on top of hibiscus flowers.
Place a second tortilla on top. A sandwich press is ideal for cooking these. Pop the quesadilla in and shut the lid. They’ll be ready in about 4 minutes – check after 2. The cheese should be gooey and the tortillas golden.
Alternatively, heat a frying pan until hot. Lay the quesadilla in the hot pan and cook for 2 minutes. Then flip and cook for another 2.
Chop in half or quarters. Squeeze over a wedge of fresh lime, add a generous shake of chilli salt and sprinkle with queso fresco.
LUCKY SPICED FISH
This is the fish marinade recipe. Trust us. Once the fish has had some time to groove in the mix, and is finally cooked, you’ll be hooked. You can cook the fillet whole, or chop it up beforehand. Bung it in a tortilla for fish tacos or just eat it straight off the plate with a slaw or green salad and some new potatoes. Simply yummy.
Makes enough for 12 tacos
500g firm white fish (we use tarakihi)
1 cup coriander leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ habanero
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
100ml canola oil
Zest of 1 lime
Pat fish dry with paper towel. Chop fish into bite-sized pieces (or leave fillets whole), taking care to remove any bones and scales you may come across.
Blitz all other ingredients in a food processor.
Pour mixture over fish and mix through to combine. It’s basically ready to go now, but you can leave it to sit for up to 30 minutes.
Pan-fry fish over high heat until golden brown on all sides. Bite-sized pieces only need 1 minute on each side; whole fillets might need a bit longer.
CARDAMOM CHOC SHOTS
Whaaaaaat??? Chilli and chocolate? You betcha. Otis thinks this is his favourite dessert…
One great thing about this is the size. It’s rich and amazing, but it’s only wee… so you savour every spoonful. It’s the perfect ‘something sweet’ after a slap-up meal.
Serves 6
5 cardamom pods (or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom)
80g dark chocolate
½ teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 tablespoon chopped unsalted peanuts
Dried chilli flakes, to garnish
If using cardamom pods, cut them open and grind the insides to a powder in a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
Break up dark chocolate (you can use the back of a knife to crush it on a chopping board) and place in a heatproof bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering hot water. Leave to melt for about 2 minutes.
Alternatively, melt in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time.
Once melted completely, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, whisk egg whites until stiff. Then add caster sugar, salt and ground cardamom and gently combine. Gently fold in melted chocolate mixture until well combined.
Divide the mixture among six shot glasses. Decorate the tops with chopped nuts and chilli flakes (be careful – hot!). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Extract from The Lucky Taco Cookbook by Sarah & Otis Frizzell. Penguin Random House, RRP$50.
Click here to view these mouth-watering recipes in 03 Magazine.