Flour Tortillas with beef chilli, guacamole, cheese and soured cream

Beef chilli garnished with fresh chillies and coriander

Last time I mentioned Australian Master Chef had been firing Lauren up to cook, so I should mention the tortillas. When the competition reached the top 8 stage, the children were whisked from the Antipodes to the States, to Los Angeles in particular. One of the places they were invited to cook was a family run Mexican restaurant, specialising in Quesadillas. They all cooked fiery hot prawn versions, but even so Lauren got excited and asked if we could make tortillas for breakfast.

I explained they weren't the kind of tortillas you could just whip up in your dressing gown, but agreed we could make some for tea one night.

I looked up Quesadillas in my recipe books but they all seemed to be versions of toasted sandwiches, 2 tortillas filled with spicy meat and cheese and then fried in a pan. That wasn't what I wanted. At work they serve flour tortillas with a buffet of things to add in and roll up, I think they are more like burritos or enchiladas but that sounded more like our thing.

Flour Tortillas with Beef Chilli, Guacamole, Cheese and Soured Cream

The first thing we did was to get the chilli on the go.

If you are vegetarian, substitute the beef for a selection of chopped peppers, aubergine, sweetcorn and/or mushroom or some Quorn.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Finely chop a medium onion and two peeled cloves of garlic and fry them gently for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to go transparent.
Next add 450-500g of lean minced beef and fry on a slightly higher heat, stirring until all the meat is browned and fairly lump free.
Sprinkle over 2 teaspoons of ground coriander, about the same of dried coriander leaf and a teaspoon of sweet paprika and give it a good stir.
You can also add your chili powder now. Add an amount that you feel comfortable with depending on how strong your chili powder is,.I added mine later as I wanted to remove some of the chili for Lauren before putting in the heat.
Add a small tin of concentrated tomato purée, about 140ml (or the equivalent from a tube), mix well to blend it in, then add a bottle of passata (or you could use chopped tinned tomatoes, or crushed tomatoes).
Open and rinse well a tin of red kidney beans - small or large depending on taste and hunger! Add the beans to the pan, season with salt and pepper (taste it, if the tomatoes are sharp you may need to add a pinch of sugar), stir and turn the pan down and allow to simmer for about half an hour, adding water or even beef stock if needed to keep it saucy and moist.

While the chilli is cooking prepare the other components.

Grate some cheese into a bowl, I used a mature cheddar because that's what I had. If I'd have been able to get it I would have used Monteray Jack, but the local supermarkets don't seem to stock it. Fill a small bowl with soured cream.

Then make the guacamole. Take a ripe avocado, halve, remove the stone and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash with a fork. Finely chop a red onion, take a couple of firm tomatoes and quarter them, remove the seeds, then chop into chunks. Mix the onion and tomato in with the avocado. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime, add some chopped coriander and freshly ground sea salt, give a good stir and set aside. You can also add some chopped, fresh chillies if you like them.

Tip: If you are going to let guacamole stand for a while, pop the avocado stone into the bowl, sprinkle the top with a little olive oil and lime juice and cover with cling film, so the film touches the top of the guacamole, this will stop it from discolouring, however it will keep without this if you are going to eat within the hour.

Before making the tortillas I set a warmer (a cheap version of a hostess!) on the table, dished up the chilli and set it to keep warm, I laid the table, put out the guacamole , cheese and soured cream. Napkins, you will definitely need those, got the drinks ready. I put a plate on the warmer to heat up ready for the fresh tortillas. You can make other sides if you like, I made some plain boiled rice but it was really surplus to requirement as the tortillas were filling, but a nice green salad or herb salad would have been nice. You might like some boiled or grilled buttery corn on the cob.

The final thing to do is to make the tortillas and once they are made you need to eat pretty quickly to enjoy them at their best.

Put 2 cups of plain/all purpose flour in a bowl with half a teaspoon of baking powder and some salt, rub in quarter of a cup of lard or vegetable shortening (see below) until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in about 120ml warm water, enough to form a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes then divide the dough up into equal sized balls, I made 8 medium ones, make what you need.

I have to confess that despite going out to the shops twice to buy it, I didn't get vegetable shortening, so I used butter and I think it actually made the tortillas lovely and soft.

Roll the dough into rounds, heat a heavy based frying pan, oil lightly with some oil on a piece of kitchen towel (please be careful remember the pan is hot!). Then fry the tortillas one by one, they should become opaque and get little brown spots and will probably puff up beautifully.

You are then ready to serve.

We took a tortilla and loaded it with chilli, guacamole, cheese and soured cream and tucked in. It's a messy job, but they were delicious, soft, pliable tortilla, juicy, fiery chilli, sharp, soft guacamole, melting cheese and the piece de resistance a dollop of creamy, sharp soured cream to bring it all together.

Clean plates all round - the perfect endorsement.

Ready to roll!