THERE is something altogether zippidy doodah about the short, sharp shock of flavour we give to food when we exploit the combination of chilli, salt and limes. There are perhaps the quintessential Pacific Rim flavours, used in wildly varying ways from Mexico to Bangkok, but their contribution is always an arresting one the zesty sharpness of lime, the torch song taste of the chilli, the consoling tableau of the salt, and in cohabitation they are adept, delicious.
So let us begin with one of the great chilli salt classics, and just the sort of drink you need to kick off a weekend lunch. A good frozen Margarita, with its rip of tequila and Cointreau and the aggressive clout of lime juice, is one of the great drinks. This is a simple recipe for the drink, from Michael Jackson's Bar and Cocktail Book.
Frozen Margarita
3 oz tequila (gold makes for a fuller flavour)
1 oz Cointreau
Wedge of lime
2-3oz fresh lime juice
1 scoop crushed ice
Saucer dusted with coarse salt
Take a wide rimmed cocktail glass and moisten the edge with the lime. Upturn the glass into the salt to coat the rim. Put the tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and ice into a blender. Serve the blended drink garnished with a wedge of lime.
AND here is the sort of food to bring to the table when the Margaritas are drunk, and which itself calls out for a cool glass of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. This salmon carpaccio uses the escabeche technique, wherein the acidity of the citrus "cooks" the fish. it's a smashing idea from Paul and Jeanne Rankin's terrific book Hot Food.
Salmon Carpaccio with Lime Juice and Ginger
500g (1 lb) fresh salmon fillet (from the head or middle)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
75ml (3 fl oz) fresh lemon juice
75ml (3 fl oz) fresh lime juice
150ml (1/4 pint) light olive oil
2 large red chillies, stemmed, deseeded and chopped
1 tablespoon very finely sliced pickled or fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 small red onion, finely chopped
Garnish
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
1 packet edible flowers, roughly chopped (optional)
To prepare the salmon, trim the fillet of any brown meat and check for any bones, which should be removed with tweezers or small pliers. With a long, sharp knife, cut the fillet into 12 thin slices. Lightly oil some cling film or greaseproof paper, place salmon slices on the cling film or paper and with a small rolling pin or a cleaver lightly flatten each slice so that it is very thin and even.
The salmon can be prepared ahead to this point and then covered and refrigerated until needed.
To make the dressing, whisk the sugar and salt with the lemon and lime juices in a small bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Now add the olive oil, chilli, ginger, pepper and red onion. Whisk just briefly to combine.
To serve, spoon the dressing evenly over the salmon on the plates and allow to marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes. You will notice that the salmon will change colour, and begin to "cook"
in the dressing. Finally, sprinkle each plate with the fresh coriander and a little of the chopped flower petals and serve.
HERE is another great summery starter. where lithe lime plays the simple role of sharpening the tastes of the twin salads at table. Ingredients such as wakame a seaweed dashi a stock made from bonito flakes and mirin a sweet rice wine, can be found in Oriental shops and good delis. It's a very clever idea from Martin Webb, chef at London's Quaglino's, and it is, he writes, "one of the restaurant's most popular and enduring first courses". It comes from The Quaglinao's Cookbook (Conran Octopus).
Dressed Crab with Mirin and Soy
For 4 people
Very fresh meat from 2 crabs
1/2 cucumber
115g/4oz pack of wakame
2 limes
For the crab dressing
3/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
31/2 tablespoons dashi
125ml (4 fl oz) mirin
2 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman is the best available)
For the salad dressing
125ml (4 fl oz) rice wine vinegar
5 tablespoons soy sauce
15g (1/2 oz) caster sugar
Peel the cucumber cut it in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Slice it as thinly as possible (use a mandoline grater if you have one). Put the slices into a bowl. salt lightly and leave for two hours. Rinse in a sieve under cold running water and reserve.
Make the crab dressing in a small pan, bring all the ingredients to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Make the salad dressing in the same way.
Put the wakame to soak for 10 minutes in tepid water. Wash in cold water, pick the leaves off the stem and put to dry on a clean cloth. Then transfer to a bowl with the cucumber. Toss gently with your fingers to mix.
On each of four large serving plates, put a pile of crab meat and a mound of wakame salad. Put a tablespoon of the crab dressing on the crab and a tablespoon of salad dressing on the wakame and cucumber. Put a half lime on each plate and serve at once.
FOR many of us, the classic chilli dish is the Mexican chilli con carne. We tend to make it as, a standard minced beef and kidney beans combo, in which guise it can be absolutely smashing Simon Connor of Adele's in Schull, West Cork, makes a particularly fine version this way.
But there are, in fact, as many variations of chilli con carne as there are stars in the sky, and the following is a fascinating variant, discovered years ago in Paul Levy and Ann Barr's Official Foodie Handbook.
It is unusual inasmuch as the element of cumin is as important as the chilli, that there is a strong note of paprika, and that the meat is a mixture of types and is not minced.
No matter how addicted you may be to the standard chilli con carne, I do urge you to give this a go it's a beaut, and fun to fiddle about with until you have the interplay of ingredients you like best. Consider, also, after you have scattered over the coriander leaves, just gently squeezing some lime juice over the dish. You will need a feisty red wine to partner this, and it just may be that a pitcher of beer is what the dish calls for.
Chilli Con Carne
Quantities don't matter you have to taste constantly anyway. What matters is that at least some of the meat (all beef or two thirds beef, one third pork) should not be ground, but should be cut in bite sized cubes. It must therefore come from a tender cut or the chilli must simmer for a long, long time.
In a very heavy saucepan, brown at least 125g (1/4 lb) meat per person in a tasteless vegetable oil, then add one small minced onion and a minced clove of garlic per person, plus any other members of the onion family you have to hand, treated the same way.
Add half each diced small green and red peppers per person, and half mild green chilli per person, also minced, and without seeds.
When these are transparent, add the freshly ground seasonings to the casserole before adding any liquid large quantities of ground coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dried oregano, plus cayenne pepper if you think you need it, and mild or hot paprika. This last will thicken the eventual sauce and give it a good colour, so use the best Hungarian.
Now add one coarsely chopped small tomato per person skin, pips and all. When these have pulped down, and provided some liquid, add the beans. (You will have previously cooked 60g 12oz red kidney or pinto beans per person, with bacon rinds, a few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf or two, and a clove of garlic, but no salt until the cooking is finished.)
After you have added the beans and some of their cooking liquid, taste for salt and seasoning. There is still time to adjust the spices, though they must simmer until they no longer taste raw. It is okay to add more oregano any time before serving the dish, and a handful of chopped fresh coriander added just before bringing it to the table creates excitement. Serve in bowls.