Recipes with dried guajillo chillies

8 recipes that use dried guajillo chillies, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Chilaquiles rojos, takes 25 minutes. It is most often cooked with garlic, coriander and white onion.

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Mushroom tacos al pastor

Tacos al pastor are the night-time taco of Mexico City, born when Lebanese immigrants' spit-roasted shawarma met Mexican dried chillies: meat marinated in guajillo and achiote is stacked on a vertical spit (the trompo), shaved into small corn tortillas and finished with pineapple, onion and coriander. This vegetarian version, tacos al pastor de hongos, uses torn oyster mushrooms in the same brick-red adobo, seared hard in a hot pan until the edges crisp and char like meat cut from the trompo. Expect smoky, tangy, gently hot tacos with bursts of sweet, caramelised pineapple; serve them with salsa verde and lime wedges. Chef's tip: press the mushrooms flat with a spatula and leave them alone in a very hot pan; moving them around makes them steam and go soft instead of crisp.

35 minVegetarian

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Chilaquiles rojos

Chilaquiles rojos are eaten for breakfast all over Mexico: fried corn tortilla wedges (totopos) tossed in a red salsa of dried guajillo and árbol chillies blended with roasted tomato. The salsa is earthy, slightly smoky and properly hot, and it clings to the chips so every bite is crisp, soft and saucy at once. They are finished with crema, cheese, onion and coriander, and often served with refried beans on the side. If you can't find guajillo, use ancho chillies or 2 tbsp mild chilli powder; for árbol, use a pinch of cayenne. Choose queso fresco made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: toast the dried chillies for seconds, not minutes; the moment they smell nutty and darken slightly, they are done.

25 minBreakfast & Brunch

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Chuchitos de verduras

Chuchitos are Guatemala's everyday tamal: small, firm parcels of masa tied in corn husks, sold from steaming pots at markets in Antigua and Guatemala City and eaten on Saturdays with a spoon of tomato sauce and crumbled dry cheese. They're denser than Mexican tamales, with the masa itself tinted by the red recado. Here they're filled with potato, green beans and sweet pepper instead of chicken. Chef's tip: beat the masa until a pinch floats in a glass of water; that air makes them tender rather than stodgy.

125 minSnacks & Starters

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Pepián de verduras

Pepián is often called Guatemala's national dish, a recado (sauce) from the Kaqchikel Maya highlands around Antigua and Chimaltenango, served at fiestas and family Sundays. Its depth comes from charring tomatoes, tomatillos and dried chillies and toasting pumpkin and sesame seeds before grinding them into a thick, smoky, reddish-brown sauce. Traditionally it simmers chicken; here chayote, potato, green beans and carrot soak it up. Serve with white rice and tamalitos or warm corn tortillas. Chef's tip: toast the seeds separately and stop when they smell nutty; burnt seeds turn the whole pot bitter.

75 minCurries

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Pozole rojo

In Jalisco and Guerrero, a pot of red pozole means a crowd: it is made for Independence night on 15 September, for Christmas and New Year, and in Guerrero towns every Thursday is 'jueves pozolero'. Big, chewy kernels of hominy and tender pork simmer in a broth coloured with dried guajillo and ancho chillies, and the bowl is finished at the table with crunchy cabbage, radish, onion, lime and a rub of dried oregano between your palms. It tastes even better the next day, so make the whole pot. Chef's tip: strain the chilli purée through a sieve into the pot, so the broth is silky and free of chilli skins.

180 minSoups

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Pescado a la talla

On the long beach of Barra Vieja, just south of Acapulco in Guerrero, whole fish are split open, painted with chilli paste and grilled over wood embers in palapa restaurants with their feet in the sand. One half gets a brick-red adobo of guajillo and ancho, the other a bright green paste of herbs and fresh chilli, so a single fish brings two flavours to share. It is eaten straight off the platter with tortillas, rice, lime and cold drinks. Chef's tip: cook it mostly skin-side down in a hinged fish basket, so the skin protects the flesh and the fish turns without breaking.

55 minFish

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Texas chili con carne

Texans call it a 'bowl of red', and at chili cook-offs from San Antonio to Terlingua the rules are firm: chunks of beef, a sauce made from dried chillies, cumin and garlic, and no beans in the pot. Beef chuck braises slowly in a brick-red purée of toasted ancho and guajillo chillies until it falls apart at a touch. Serve with chopped onion, grated cheese and crackers or cornbread. Chef's tip: toast the dried chillies only until they smell fragrant and soften, about 30 seconds per side; burnt chillies make the whole pot bitter.

210 minMeat

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Kak'ik

Kak'ik is a red, aromatic turkey soup from the Q'eqchi' Maya of Alta Verapaz, around Cobán, and is cooked for weddings, saints' days and Christmas; it is now recognised as part of Guatemala's cultural heritage. Turkey legs simmer in a broth flavoured with toasted tomatoes, guajillo and pasa chillies, achiote, coriander and mint, and it is served with tamalitos or rice. The mistake is not toasting the chillies and tomatoes; the slight char gives the soup its smoky depth. Chef's tip: toast the dried chillies only for seconds, until they puff and smell fruity, or they turn bitter.

115 minSoups

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Goes well with dried guajillo chillies