Everyone eats to survive, but food is much more than just a necessity of life. It’s also a common language across generations, cultures and languages, bringing people together in shared experiences of taste, flavour and sensation.
Canada has a rich heritage of attracting people from all around the world to its shores. That includes more than 17,000 international farm workers who come to Ontario every year to work on fruit and vegetable farms as part of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP).
They hail from Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Eastern Caribbean islands and play essential roles in helping Ontario farmers grow the popular but labour-intensive fruit and vegetable crops popular with consumers.
It can be hard to be away from family and friends for months at a time, and when they’re not on the job, workers keep busy with activities like soccer and other sports, music or cooking for their friends and co-workers.
Errol Mitchell from Jamaica has been working in Ontario annually for more than 16 years through the SAWP, the past more than seven of those years at a Southern Ontario greenhouse.
“I love to cook, and I love to listen to music… I enjoy cooking for the guys sometimes. I cook and everyone sits and eats,” he says.
Many of the ingredients for tasty and nutritious Mexican, Jamaican or other Caribbean recipes are grown right here in Ontario, giving you an international flavour with local flair.
Try these Mexican tostadas featuring locally grown tomatoes, green onions, celery, parsley, coriander, onion and garlic as a quick weekday supper option.
Mexican Tostadas
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 4 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ½ cup (125 ml) chopped celery
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped fresh coriander or parsley
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp (2 ml) ground cumin
- ½ tsp (2 ml) crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp (2 ml) salt
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 lb (500 g) lean ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup (250 ml) tomato sauce
- 1 tsp (5 ml) chili powder
Optional garnishes:
- Sour cream
- Chopped green onion
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, green onions, celery, coriander, vinegar, cumin, red pepper flakes and half of the salt. Cover and set aside.
- In a small dry skillet, over medium heat, toast tortillas until lightly browned and crisp on both sides. Set aside.
- In a large nonstick skillet, cook ground beef, onion and garlic over medium heat, stirring and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned. Drain off any excess fat.
- Stir in tomato sauce, chili powder and the remaining salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- To serve, place tortillas on plates and spoon beef mixture evenly over each. Top with reserved tomato mixture, sour cream and green onions, if using. Serve immediately.
