Mexico in Mzansi

Mexican cooking, Mzansi-style! In Mexico in Mzansi, chef Aiden Pienaar brings local flair to some traditional Mexican favourites. Like the ubiquitous taco, this cookbook is filled with a surprising array of flavours and influences to excite even the most experienced chefs and exhausted home cooks.By thinking a little outside the box, and using South African ingredients and cookingtechniques – boerie tacos and braaied corn, anyone? – Chef Aiden gives Mexican cuisine a Mzansi-style facelift.From classics such as mole, refried beans and nachos, to innovations including Mexican chakalaka, chilli con carne vetkoek and sosatie tacos, these are recipes to inspire and delight. All are easy to follow and require minimal prep.In addition, Chef Aiden will teach you to make your own tortillas and salsas, show you how to present tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas, as well as introduce you to different cooking methods, from braising and grilling to air-frying. That’s not to mention the array of delicious desserts to round off your meal, or the collection of margaritas to tantalise your tastebuds.

Aiden Pienaar is a dynamic, young chef who has worked in some of the best restaurants in South Africa, Los Angeles and Dubai, under luminaries including Luke Dale-Roberts and Scot Kirton, Colin Clague, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Margot Janse. His first restaurant, Tilting Heads Taco Café and Margarita Bar, in Port Elizabeth, specialised in Mexican fusion cuisine and took inspiration from all corners of the globe, especially his home country, Mzansi. He is currently head chef at Second Story in Sandton, Johannesburg.

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