Breddos tacos cookbook: from beef tartare to duck carnitas

As the brainchild of the kings of street food, Nud Dudhia and Chris Whitney, Breddos Tacos has grown from a taco shack in a Hackney car park to a permanent restaurant at Street Feast's Dinerama in Shoreditch.

The cooking duo have written down 75 of their most innovative recipes from braised beef with pineapple relish to jerk quail with mango and lime salsa for tacos, tostadas and small plates as well as a whole string of condiments to go with them.

Although neither are from Mexico, their aim is to take the flavours, techniques and ingredients they love from Mexico and around the world and make it work for a 12cm edible plate.

The book is split into chapters covering beef, poultry and game, pork and lamb, fish, vegetables, drinks, salsas and condiments.

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Serves 4 as a snack or 2 as a main course

150g (51⁄2oz) good quality beef fillet
1 shallot
3 cornichons
1 long red chilli 
1 jalapeño chilli
1 tomatillo, dry roasted
1 garlic clove, sliced wafer thin and sautéd in olive oil until crispy
1tsp olive oil
1tbsp red wine vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1tsp Dijon mustard
2tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
4 tostada
4 quail egg yolks
4tbsps finely chopped coriander (cilantro), to garnish
thinly sliced radishes, to garnish
1tbsp breddos hot sauce* or to taste
edible flowers (optional), to garnish 

Put the beef fillet into the freezer to firm up for 30 minutes. Very finely dice the shallot and leave to soak in a bowl of cold water while the beef is in the freezer. Finely dice the cornichons, red chilli, jalapeño, and finely chop the tomatillo and crispy garlic and put them into a bowl with the drained shallots. Slice the beef fillet and cut into 5mm (1⁄4 inch) cubes, add to the bowl with the teaspoon of the olive oil and mix together. Add the red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a bigger pinch of pepper, the mustard and extra-virgin olive oil and mix. Place a tostada (or two) on each plate and add a spoonful of tartare mix. Spread out to cover the surface. Place a raw egg yolk in the middle and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish with coriander, radish slices and Breddos hot sauce, and finish with edible flowers, if using.

*Breddos hot sauce

Makes 400 ml (14rfl oz/ scant 2 cups)

We highly recommend wearing silicone gloves while making this recipe.

2-3 scotch bonnet chillies
small pinch of sea salt
2tbsps sugar
juice of 4 limes
1½ x 400g (14 oz) tins of peeled plum tomatoes
Handful of coriander chopped

Remove the stalks and quarter the scotch bonnets. If you want to reduce the heat of the sauce, remove the seeds at this stage. Put the scotch bonnets into a blender and blitz. Add the salt and sugar and squeeze in the lime juice. Blitz again for a moment. Add the tomatoes and coriander and blitz again. The tomato taste should fall into the background, with sweet citrus flavours coming through and building, with quite a long-lasting heat.

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This is an awesome dish to serve up at dinner parties or get-togethers as a canapé. By using baby gem lettuce as the tortilla (the Koreans call it Ssam), it feels light and healthy, but it always delivers on flavour. The best thing about this recipe is that you can use any leftover duck for grilled cheese sandwiches, nachos and salads.

Serves 4

4 duck legs
3tsps sea salt
1tsp black pepper
1 onion, quartered
2 dried chipotle chillies
8 dried plums (use apricots if you can’t nd plums)
1 head of garlic
1tbsp whole black peppercorns
2 whole star anise
200g (7oz/scant 1 cup) duck fat
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 large habanero chillies, deseeded, veined and thinly sliced
100ml (3½ oz/scant 1⁄2 cup) freshly squeezed, strained lime juice
4 baby gem lettuces
white sesame seeds, to garnish
2 limes, quartered, to serve 

Cover the duck with the salt and pepper and leave overnight, covered, in the fridge. The next day, preheat the oven to 160°C (300°F/Gas 2). Put the legs fat (skin) side down into an ovenproof frying pan and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes. You’re looking to render the fat from the legs and release their juices. Turn the legs over and add the onion, chipotles, dried plums, garlic, peppercorns, anise and duck fat. Cover the pan with foil and put into the oven for 2–2½ hours.

Take the foil off the pan and increase the oven temperature to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Cook the duck for a further 15 minutes, then take out of the oven and set aside to rest. Prepare the pickles by macerating the sliced red onion and habanero in the lime juice. Set aside in the fridge. In the meantime, prepare the baby gems by snipping off the roots and separating the leaves of the lettuce with your hands – you’ll find they have a natural boat shape, perfect for filling with food.

Shred the meat off the duck legs, making sure to mash the garlic and chipotle into the cooking sauce and incorporating it into the meat. Fill each lettuce cup with a generous helping of duck, followed by a plum from the cooking sauce, some prepared pink pickled onions, sesame seeds and a squirt of lime.

This recipe takes inspiration from one of our favourite restaurants, Contramar, in Mexico City. It is the perfect lunch spot, serving uber-fresh seafood nestled away in the Roma district. Its tuna tostada is an unforgettable dish for those who have been there.

Serves 4

For the tuna

500g (1lb 2oz) sashimi-grade tuna, sliced across the grain into roughly 60g (2¼oz) portions
juice of 4 limes

For the soy glaze

100ml (3½ oz/scant 1⁄2 cup) soy sauce
100ml (3½ oz/scant 1⁄2 cup) sake
100ml (3½ oz/scant 1⁄2 cup) mirin
100g (3½ oz/scant 1⁄2 cup) granulated sugar 
2tsps cornflour 
1tbsp water 

For the jalapeños

50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter
3 jalapeño chillies, sliced thinly into rings

To serve:

8 tostadas
4tsps chipotle mayonnaise *
1 avocado, sliced
1tbsp white sesame seeds
1 lime, quartered 

To make the soy glaze, combine the soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar in a pan and cook on a medium heat for 3 minutes. Mix the cornflour and water in a small bowl, add to the soy mix and stir until thickened. Remove from the heat. To make the jalapeños, put the butter into a pan with the jalapeños and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Put two tostadas on each serving plate. Place 1⁄2tsp of chipotle mayonnaise and a slice of avocado on each tostada. Put the tuna into a bowl and pour over the lime juice, mixing it through to ensure all the pieces are covered. Take two slices of tuna, dip into the soy glaze, then place on each tostada. Place a few jalapeños on each slice of tuna and sprinkle over some sesame seeds. Give the tostadas a further squirt of lime juice and serve.

*Chipotle mayonnaise

Makes 275g

2 chipotles in adobo, with 2tbsps sauce
1tbsp water
250g  aioli 

Blend the chipotles with the water and the adobo sauce until a smooth paste forms. Add the aioli and blitz on high speed until incorporated.

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This is best cooked on a barbecue in the heat of summer.

Serves 4 as a snack

100ml (3½ oz/scant 1⁄2 cup) agave syrup
juice of 4 limes
1tbsp cayenne pepper
1tsp sea salt 
1 bird’s eye chilli, very finely chopped
1⁄2tsp fish sauce
1⁄2 watermelon, cut into 2.5cm (1") wedges 

To serve

100g (3½) queso fresco or feta cheese
a handful of mint leaves
2 limes, quartered 

Mix together the agave, lime juice, cayenne, salt, chilli and fish sauce. When your barbecue is hot, brush the watermelon wedges with the mixture and grill for a couple of minutes on each side. Place on a serving plate and sprinkle over the queso fresco and mint leaves. Serve with the lime quarters.

Breddos Tacos The Cookbook by Nud Dudhia and Chris Whitney (Quadrille, £15) Photography: Kris Kirkham