Tacos

Lily Ramirez-Foran - shopkeeper, food writer, storyteller, mad dreamer and lover of all things Irish - is the founder of Ireland's first Mexican boutique grocer and cookery school, Picado Mexican in Dublin. She's also the author behind the popular Mexican food blog A Mexican Cook. Lily has been living and cooking in Ireland for 20 years with her Irish husband and business partner, Alan. She's a woman on a mission to showcase Mexican food beyond its cliches and misconceptions. When not busy with work, Lily can be found experimenting with recipes, writing at her kitchen table and learning to grow food in her tiny urban garden.

• Introduction; Tortillas:Mastering the art of holding a taco; Corn tortillas; To heat or not to heat? Fillings:A recipe is nothing without its context;Skipped goat tacos; Drunken beef barbacoa tacos;Carne asada tacos;Tacos al pastor;Pork pibil tacos;Potato and chorizo tacos;Hot hot hot;De arbol and tamarind pork tacos;Chicken chicharron tacos;How to test the temperature of oil if you don't have a deep-fryer;Chicken tacos dorados;The battle of the crunch;Ensenada-style fish tacos;Sweet potato and carrot tinga;Roasted butternut squash with ancho chilli crust tacos;Three ways with Tajin;Spicy bean and pan-roasted corn tacos;Mushroom chilorio tacos;Salsas:De arbol salsa roja;Salsa verde;Taquera salsa verde;Why I don't eat avocados;Sticky hibiscus and chipotle salsa;Salsa madura Sides:Smoky refried beans;Mexican slaw;Red onion pickle;Pico de gallo;Citrusy crema;Chipotle mayonnaise

"This is the simple, undeniable state of affairs right now: I have fallen in love with Lily Ramirez-Foran's beautiful little book, Tacos, and I can't wait for you to as well! It's a real shout-it-from-the-rooftops moment. Yes, it's a recipe book, but - though it be but little - there is so much more to it than that. In these 60-something pages, you learn about context and place, history and (without wishing to sound pretentious) the philosophy of the taco. And this is conveyed with such wit and buoyant enthusiasm it's just impossible not to be swept up by it. And the recipes in it - not photographed but accompanied by charming illustrations by Nicky Hooper - are irresistible. I just urge you to get this invaluable, gorgeous book. Congratulations to Lily Ramirez-Foran and to Blasta Books, whose first publication this also is." Nigella Lawson"Absolutely loving this beautiful collection of cookbooks from Blasta Books, celebrating the diversity of food in and around Ireland." Jamie Oliver "These small, gorgeous, single-subject cookbooks...are fantastic. And, clearly, deeply aesthetically pleasing. They're so beautifully designed and illustrated. I really love the whole enterprise." India Knight