Fruit: check. Cheese: check. Meat: check. How about Mexican food in the UAE?
Well, the pickings are slim. However, Mexican food is usually conspicuously absent in the Middle East, so while I recognize that the selection is poor, this is also the most Mexican food I've ever seen in a grocery store outside the United States.
You've got your various seasoning packets, none of which I've tried, and they cost anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 each. The real gem of this picture is in the lower right corner - do you see it? Seasoned Black Beans in a mystery microwave pouch, for $2.50. The thing about black beans is that you can't get them here. You will never see them in a can (except in their adulterated fat-free refried form) or in a bag. I bought this microwaveable pouch for the first time this week so I could report my findings (and also because I miss black beans). Verdict: they're kinda gross. I think the "Mexican-style sauce" may be the culprit. I ate a few as-is and then rinsed the sauce off the rest to repurpose in a different recipe.
Sometimes you can get tortillas at Carrefour. Not always, but sometimes. I've never tried them because I make my own at home, and the ingredients cost less than $3.50 for a pack of eight.
The great tragedy of the Mexican food section is the taco shells. They are AWFUL. Maybe they would taste OK if they were even remotely fresh, but when I've tried them (admittedly only once), they were that awkward soft-stale that cuts your mouth when you try to chew them. Shudder. We just don't eat tacos. That is how we deal.
Carrefour alternates between having whole green chilies and diced green chilies, apparently without rhyme or reason. But it always costs $1.50 or $2.00 a can. And there's the refried black beans I mentioned. It's like a slap in the face because the real thing isn't available. For the record, I have no idea why Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth is in the Mexican section. I guess it had to go somewhere.
Carrefour is bigger on taco sauce than it is on salsa per se. I tend to use them interchangeably in recipes, which is nice because if you want real salsa labeled as such:
it costs half as much again (almost two dollars for the taco sauce vs. almost five dollars for a slightly bigger jar of the salsa).
Miscellaneous canned beans. We're getting down to the dregs here. $1.25 per can.
And that's the Mexican food section at Carrefour! I took a picture of everything on offer, so you've seen it all. Needless to say, I don't make Mexican food a lot. However, I did manage to whip up these Cowboy Quesadillas the other night using the aforementioned rejected black beans as a special treat.
And they were goooood. I have a feeling black beans will be finding their way into my suitcase when we go to the US next summer.
Well, the pickings are slim. However, Mexican food is usually conspicuously absent in the Middle East, so while I recognize that the selection is poor, this is also the most Mexican food I've ever seen in a grocery store outside the United States.
And that's the Mexican food section at Carrefour! I took a picture of everything on offer, so you've seen it all. Needless to say, I don't make Mexican food a lot. However, I did manage to whip up these Cowboy Quesadillas the other night using the aforementioned rejected black beans as a special treat.