When my youngest step-son requested a Mexican meal for his birthday dinner, I decided to experiment with some old favourites. I urge everyone to understand that “Mexican” to an average American pretty much entails any recipe involving cheese and a tortilla, so I hardly consider my style to be authentic in any way. Like I tell the boys: were I cooking true Mexican food for them, they wouldn’t be able to cope with the heat. Hence I’ll just stick with the good fall back of “Southwestern style” cooking, as I think that’s probably a more appropriate title for the type of food I would generally categorise as “Mexican.”

Along with enchiladas (“my favourite thing you do,” as said by my eldest step-son), I decided to make some accompanying sides. Rather than the mild, flavourless store-bought salsas, I decided to experiment with my own tomato-based goodness. I made this the day before, so it had a good 24 hours to sit and let the flavours infuse. On the day it was a hit, and I’ll certainly be making it to accompany future “Mexican” meals.