Mexi love bites

Tam West

This one got me questioning my definition of a recipe: at first it seemed too simple. But this is a case of taking the known and playing with it to create an exciting and pleasing experience, one where the flavours are distinguished, defined and intense. These are designed to be eaten whole, don’t pussyfoot around nibbling at the edges. Dive on in and allow yourself to experience the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Choose good tomatoes and pay that little bit more for real limes: when things are stripped back to their essence there’s nowhere to hide. Round tortilla chips work best from a practical perspective — easier to bite in one go and less risk of pointy edges in tender places.

Ingredients

1 bag	Unsalted tortilla chips, round and plain (Main)
8 medium	Tomatoes, sweet, sliced into rounds
1 tsp	Freshly ground black pepper
1 sprinkle	Kashmiri chilli powder, to taste
1 sprinkle	Chilli flakes, crushed, to taste
2	Limes, fresh
1 Tbsp	Olive oil, approx
½ cup	Fresh coriander

Directions

1. Spread the tortilla chips out on a platter with their prettiest side up if they have one, ideally choosing unbroken and conveniently flat specimens.
2. Lay a slice of tomato on each, then a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of pepper. Don't try to get it too even, it's better to have little concentrated pockets of flavour.
3. Do the same with whatever type of chilli powder (or fresh chilli) you like and have available, paying attention to creating distinct areas on each bite that have a dollop of chilli on them.
4. Squeeze a splash of lime on to each, then a few drops of good olive oil, and finally top with a few pretty coriander leaves.