Wahaca’s seasonal, sustainable new menu sees Wahacamole make its debut!
Summer may have drawn to a close but the launch of Mexican restaurant group Wahaca’s Winter menu brings with it a selection of delicious, sustainable new dishes that are perfect for the colder months and packed with fresh, seasonal ingredients. The menu is available from 13th October at Wahaca’s restaurants across the UK.
Introducing Wahacamole – a fresh, sustainable take on guacamole, made with organic British fava beans that’s a delicious and planet-friendly way to kick off your meal. Specially created by Wahaca’s co-founder Thomasina Miers in response to the environmental and social damage that avocados can cause, the dish uses locally-grown organic fava beans from Hodmedod’s, packed with fibre and protein, added to a blend of fresh lime, coriander leaf and green chilli. The result is not only kind to the planet but makes for a moreish, mouth-watering and healthy snack. It’s topped with “chiltatis” – a mix of ground fennel, sesame, almonds and pumpkin seeds to give a sustainably satisfying crunch, and served with tortilla chips for dipping (£5.25).
A must for fans of slow-cooked meat, Lamb barbacoa tacos (£7.25) are a warming, hearty new addition to Wahaca’s winter menu. Lamb shoulder is cooked for four hours in a blend of four Mexican chillies (pasilla, ancho, chipotle and guajillo) for a smoky, rounded deep flavour until the lamb is soft and falling apart. It’s served in flour tortillas with scoops of mint crema inspired by the Lebanese immigrants to Mexico who invented ‘tacos al pastor’ and created a wave of Mexican-Arabic fusion.
The change in seasons brings with it an array of new fungi-filled dishes to the Wahaca menu that are a must for all mushroom fans. The Ancho mushroom taco (£6.25) combines roast flat and chestnut mushrooms with garlicky jalapeno mayo, topped with colourful home-made beetroot crisps that add a sweet, satisfying crunch. Oozing with melted cheese, Allioli mushroom club quesadillas (£6.50) are an irresistible veggie take on Wahaca’s chicken club quesadilla, substituting meat for mushrooms roasted deliciously in garlic and ancho chilli. And the new Mushroom enchilada (£11.50) sees the ‘shrooms tossed with Wahaca’s classic enchilada sauce and served with green rice and black beans – perfect for the vegetarian seeking something warming, rich and comforting. Vegan versions of all the new mushroom dishes are also available.
The perfect accompaniment to a few plates of tacos, the Chargrilled hispi (£5.95) is not just beautifully seasonal, but has a low carbon impact as well as being totally delicious. Hispi, an autumnal British-grown cabbage, is steamed and grilled then served with a Sharpham Park spelt salad, pomegranate seeds and a wonderfully smooth green cashew nut mole.
Thomasina Miers commented: “Putting delicious food on people’s plates is at the heart of everything that we do at Wahaca, but it is closely followed by treading as lightly on the planet as we can. While we won’t be seeing avocados leaving our menu any time soon, we felt the time was right for a new twist on our guacamole, by creating a bespoke, sustainable, utterly more-ish dip made with the incredibly pulses grown by Hodmedod’s co-operative of organic farmers. The new Wahacamole makes the perfect start to a Mexican feast and we hope that our customers feel inspired to try something that’s not just a little bit different, but has been created with sustainability firmly in mind.”
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