Mexican salt-and-pepper recado

This recipe is an adaptation of a spice paste given by Patricia Quintana in her book The Taste of Mexico. From the Yucatán region of the Maya people in southern Mexico, a ‘recado’ is used to flavour soups, broths, meat, sauces and fish. I use this version as a marinade rub for chicken or quail that is to be roasted. The seasoning has quite a potent kick when eaten raw but mellows in