Maaaaan, I love Mexican food. Especially when it’s hands-on, messy, and packed full of different flavours and textures. But do you know what I like even more? Having appropriate attire to wear while eating said cuisine – a cactus covered dress! Now all I need is a flight to Tulum…

Keep reading to see my outfit details & my favourite fresh and crunchy taco recipe.

Is it a blogger thing to be obsessed with cacti and succulents, or is it more universal than that? Either way, this cactus print dress from Joy is making my eyes v happy right now.

I love the shape of it, and I love that it’s a midi with a couple of subtle slits (until there’s a gust of wind…). It feels ladylike, but fun at the same time. I often find that midi skirts can make me look shorter, unless I pair them with heels, so I slipped on these lovely suede sandals from the Zara sale.

What I’m wearing

• H&M sunglasses
• Valley of the Dolls dress from Joy
• Zara sandals

Now onto the food.

Help-yourself food like this is so good for the summer – plonk it all on your garden table and dig in. All the prep & cooking takes well under 30mins, so it can definitely be a quick midweek dinner.

I am definitely one of those people who eats with their eyes – if a meal looks good, I enjoy it so much more. These tacos are so full of colour, and on these gorgeous little plates from Amara, they really pop.

Amara kindly gifted the Orla Kiely salad bowl, Normann Copenhagen salad servers, Tokyo Design Studio plates & Pomax napkins.

Chilli beef taco recipe

For the chilli beef:

• 150g lean minced beef
• can of kidney beans
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 1 red chilli, finely diced
• 3 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• salt & pepper
• fresh coriander

Extras:

• taco shells
• lettuce or baby spinach
• sliced avocado
• fresh coriander
• sliced spring onion
• sliced radishes
• salsa
• sour cream
• grated cheddar
• pomegranate seeds
• lime wedges

The great thing about tacos is that you can pick and choose what ingredients you like.

My favourite combination is the one you see below – a little sour cream, lettuce, avocado, some chilli beef, topped with radishes, fresh coriander, spring onion and pomegranate seeds. The fresh ingredients cut through the creaminess & spicy meat flavours – it’s so yummy.

Serve with corn on the cob sprinkled with lime juice and chilli flakes.

Enjoy!