Recipe edition: Making Mexican food in New Zealand

A travel blog I read made a great point about people when they travel. The blogger, Lauren, wrote that since we are always moving to new places and people, we serve as our own anchor, our own home. Travelers can only know themselves well to feel comforted and at home.

Whenever I find something when I am traveling that I know and like I become obsessed with it. It is a small piece of home in a foreign place.

At home, I like Mexican food. Here, I am a missionary for the cuisine, talking to everyone I meet how good it tastes.  But there are not many Mexican immigrants in New Zealand, so when Abe and I arrived here we were disappointed to find that even Wellington, the capital and 2^nd biggest city in NZ does not have a Mexican restaurant.

As the weeks passed we visited many cities and towns all with no Mexican restaurants, so we decided to take matters into our own hands. We scoured the grocery store shelves for any Mexican-looking ingredients we could find, and planned to feast that very evening. Grocery-shopping for Mexican food is no small feat in New Zealand because supermarkets (or as Kiwis say, "dairys") here do not even sell tortilla chips. You have to go to a natural or organic foods store to find them, and there aren’t very many of those in NZ either.

But we were motivated, like most travelers ravenously cooking up a storm in hostels, by an intense desire for a slice of home. The result was a masterpiece worth sharing. If you are in NZ, you need to try this (you’ve been missing out), and even if you’re somewhere in the US surrounded by lovely burrito carts or even Chipotles, you will love this recipe too.

Things you need:

White long grain rice (or your favourite kind is fine too, since Abe and I have quite different opinions on rice)

3 small gold potatoes (we snagged these from an organic vegetable truck that visits our hostel each week!)

5 or 6 white mushrooms

1 can Mexican-style tomatoes (these are diced and seasoned)

1 can black beans in chilli sauce (oddly all black beans in NZ come in this sauce)

2 avocados

Shredded white cheddar cheese (since NZ doesn’t call cheese by the actual name, you will find it under “Tasty Cheese” here)

Black pepper

Your favourite all-purpose seasoning or beloved Goya seasoning, but we can’t get that here

Jumbo tortillas

Cooking oil

What to do:

Chop up your potatoes and throw them in the frying pan with some oil, black pepper and all purpose seasoning. Let the potatoes cook until they’re soft and golden. Throw in chopped mushrooms next and allow to cook for a few more minutes. Add the beans, chopped avocadoes, and tomatoes and cook until all ingredients are mixed in and sizzling. Shred some cheese over a tortilla and slap your delicious cooked mixture on top. And you’re done! This recipe is clearly perfect for backpackers since we hate to wait, but it is also extremely tasty.

UPDATE:
If I had been lucky enough to be friends with my lovely Kiwi friend, Tessa, (who is a fantastic guide to all things Kiwi, by the way) when I was in Wellington I could have satisfied my Mexican food craving with a visit to the South American restaurant The Flying Burrito Brothers. Thanks, girl!