By Adam Liaw
A lot of the food we ate growing up that we believed was Mexican was actually Tex-Mex. Nachos are Tex-Mex. Chilli con carne is Tex-Mex.
Even the tacos and burritos we love, full of lettuce and cheese and slopped with salsa and sour cream, are Tex-Mex, too.
Squashed potatoes with avocado salsa.Credit: William Meppem
Real Mexican food is fantastic, but don't write off its most famous spin-off.
Tex Mex is a cuisine in its own right, what happened when Texans of Mexican origin took the classics of their original homeland and updated them with ingredients from their expanded American pantry.
Cumin and lime roast chicken.Credit: William Meppem
Spices and herbs such as cumin and oregano became staples, even though they're rarely used in traditional Mexican food.
And American dairies provided the cheese and sour cream which are the cornerstone of Tex-Mex cooking. The result may be a far cry from true Mexican street food, but that doesn't mean it isn't delicious.
CUMIN AND LIME ROAST CHICKEN
Serves 4-6
Slow roasting this chicken gives the spice flavours time to develop and produces a meltingly tender result.
• 1.6kg whole free-range chicken
• 1 tbsp salt
• 75g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• grated rind of 1 lime, rest of the fruit reserved
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 large red onions, cut into eighths
• handful coriander, to garnish
Rub the chicken inside and out with salt, then combine the butter, cumin, coriander, paprika, lime rind, oregano and garlic. Loosen the skin of the chicken from the breast and rub the butter onto the breasts, pulling the skin back over to cover. Push more butter between the skin of the thighs and the meat. Cut a deep slit into each drumstick and fill with the butter. Rub any remaining butter over the outside of the bird.
Halve the lime and place the halves into the cavity with a couple of pieces of onion. Heat your oven to 120°C. Scatter the remaining onion over the base of a roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and roast for around 2½ hours. Increase the heat to 200°C for the final 10 minutes, then rest the chicken for a further 10 minutes, spooning any collected juices and oil over the bird after it is carved. Garnish with coriander, then serve.
SQUASHED POTATOES WITH AVOCADO SALSA
Serves 4-6
These deliciously crispy potatoes are paired with creamy avocado and sweet ripe tomatoes to make the perfect accompaniment to the roast chicken.
• 12 new potatoes, scrubbed
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp flake salt
• ½ cup sour cream, to serve (optional)
Avocado salsa
• 3 roma tomatoes, deseeded and diced
• 2 ripe avocados, peeled, seed removed and diced
• ½ a small yellow capsicum, seeds removed and diced
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 birds-eye chilli, finely sliced
• 1 cup loosely packed coriander leaves, shredded
Place potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil on high heat. Continue boiling the potatoes for 12-15 minutes until tender (see Tip). Drain. Heat your oven to 200°C. Pour the vegetable oil into a wide roasting tray and heat in the oven until hot, then remove from the oven. Place the hot potatoes on a cutting board and squash them using the base of the saucepan until they are about 1cm thick. Remove from the cutting board with a spatula and place directly into the hot oil. Turn once to coat, season well with salt and return the roasting tray to the oven. Roast the potatoes for 25 minutes, then flip them and continue to roast for a further 20 minutes, until wellbrowned and crisp. Remove from the oil. For the avocado salsa, combine all the ingredients. Scatter over the potatoes and serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Adam's tip: To test whether potatoes are tender, pierce them with a sharp paring knife. The knife should slide in and out easily. Using a fork or large knife can split potatoes if they are not ready