Ixta Belfrage is the breakout star of Yotam Ottolenghi's test kitchen

When we first spoke to Ixta Belfrage back in 2020, she had just co-authored a cookbook with her mentor Yotam Ottolenghi. Flavour was touched by her spirit, Ottolenghi himself said she learned something new from her everyday.

She joined his test kitchen in 2016, bringing ingredients from her culinary heritage - she was London born to a Brazilian mother, via Cuba and Mexico, and the family lived in Italy during her childhood.

Now she's branched out on her own, with Mezcla, which means " to mix" in Spanish, not afraid to take the word fusion and breathe fresh life into it.

It's full of fun, flavour-packed meals, perfect for the everyday and for special occasions.

Let's get a couple of things straight. First, I know that these are not chiles rellenos in the true sense of the dish. They are not made with Poblano chillies, they are not filled with traditional ingredients,* they are not battered and deep-fried. They are, however, inspired by chiles rellenos (one of my favourite dishes of all time) and they are also, quite literally, chiles rellenos - stuffed (chilli) peppers.**

Second, I also know that this is not risotto - it is not made with arborio rice, and it is not cooked in the traditional manner. However, the texture of the end result is very much like that of a good risotto. It would be remiss of me to call this dish something like ... oh, I don't know, "Stuffed peppers with spicy rice". Not only does that sound really boring, it also takes away from that crucial inspiration.

*Although if you can get your hands on queso Oaxaca/quesillo, please use this instead of feta and mozzarella.

** I used romano peppers because they are a readily available, flavoursome pepper variety in the UK. If you have access to fresh Poblano chilli peppers, please use them instead.

Ingredients

8 red romano peppers

200g short-grain brown rice, soaked for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight)

300g feta, roughly broken into small pieces

200g buffalo mozzarella, drained well, patted dry and torn into medium chunks

2 spring onions, julienned

5g fresh coriander leaves

2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve

Salsa roja:

2 tbsp olive oil

15g unsalted butter

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped (120g)

2 cloves of garlic, finely grated/crushed

300g sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes, such as Datterini

1/2 dried ancho chilli

1 dried habanero chilli (or a pinch of regular/chipotle chilli flakes, if you prefer milder heat)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fine salt

120g water

2 tsp tomato paste

Method

1. Turn the oven grill to the highest setting.

2. Cut a slit along one side of each pepper, keeping them attached at the top and bottom. Arrange the peppers on a rack set over a baking tray, slit-side up.

3. Grill until soft and blackened in patches, about seven minutes, then turn the peppers and grill for another four to eight minutes, until that side is soft and blackened in patches too. Keep an eye on them, as they may be ready sooner if your grill runs hot. Set the tray aside and leave the peppers to cool on the rack, slit side down, so any liquid drains away.

4. Cook the rice. Drain the soaked rice and put into a medium saucepan with 450g of water. Bring to a simmer over a medium-high heat. Once simmering, lower the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes with the lid still on.

5. While the rice is cooking, make the salsa. Put the first 10 ingredients (everything except the water and tomato paste) into a large sauté pan on a medium-high heat and fry, stirring often, for 15 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and the onions are soft and golden-brown.

6. Turn the heat down to medium or medium-low if the mixture starts to catch or burn.

7. Discard the habanero (or squeeze it with the back of a spoon before removing it if you like heat). Transfer the salsa to a blender with the water and tomato purée/paste and blend until completely smooth. Return to the pan and set aside.

8. Turn the oven grill to the highest setting.

9. Now stuff the peppers. Mix the feta and mozzarella together in a bowl. Transfer the peppers from the rack to a foil-lined tray. Peel some of the skin off - just the bits that tear away easily (you don't want to rip a hole in the peppers). Pat the insides dry and season with a pinch of salt. Stuff the peppers with the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with a little flaked salt and drizzle over a little oil. You can prepare the peppers up to this point up to four hours ahead.

10. Grill for seven to nine minutes near the top of the oven, until the cheese is bubbling and browned in patches. Set aside to cool for a few minutes (but not for too long, as the melted cheese will begin to harden).

11. Add the cooked rice to the pan with the salsa roja, stir together and gently heat through for a minute. The texture should be that of a loose, saucy risotto; add a splash of water if it's looking thick.

12. To serve, spoon the risotto onto a platter and top with the peppers. Finish with the spring onions and coriander, squeeze over some lime and serve.

Serves 4.

I love the combination of sweet and savoury (as you'll probably have deduced if you've flicked through this book a few times), and there is no greater union than that of pork and pineapple. The pork here comes in the form of 'nduja, a spreadable chilli-spiked sausage from Calabria. Add chicken, pineapple, chipotle and tangerine to the mix and you've got yourself a party.

Ingredients

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, at room temperature

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife

1 medium onion, halved and very thinly sliced on a mandolin

1/2 large, extra-ripe pineapple, peeled (300g)

4 sweet tangerines (or 2 oranges), squeezed to get 100g juice (see notes)

100g chicken bone broth, stock or water

2 tbsp double cream

5g fresh coriander

1 lime, cut into wedges

'Nduja and chipotle paste:

50g 'nduja paste/spread

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp tomato purée/paste

1/2 tsp chipotle flakes

1/2 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp fine salt

about 20 twists of freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.

2. Put all the ingredients for the paste into a large bowl and mix together. Add the chicken, garlic and three-quarters of the sliced onion and mix well so everything is coated evenly. Tip the onions and garlic into a 28cm ovenproof cast-iron skillet or similar-sized baking dish and spread out. Place the chicken thighs on top, skin side up and spaced apart.

3. Cut the pineapple into four rounds, then cut each round into quarters, removing the hard core (you should have about 300g). Add the pineapple to the bowl with the remnants of the paste, mix to coat with whatever's left there, then arrange the pineapple around the chicken.

4. Pour the tangerine juice around the chicken (don't get the skin wet), then bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the stock or water into the pan around the chicken (again, don't get the skin wet). Return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is browned and crispy. If you have a blowtorch, use it to char the pineapple a little.

5. Drizzle the cream into the sauce. Toss the coriander and the remaining sliced onions together with a tiny bit of oil and salt and arrange on top. Serve from the pan, with the lime wedges alongside.

Serves 4.

Get ahead: Marinate the chicken in the 'nduja and chipotle paste up to two days ahead, but don't mix in the onion and garlic until you're ready to bake.

Notes: I use tangerines over oranges as they have a more complex, floral flavour, but feel free to use oranges if that's easier (use fresh fruit, though, not juice from a bottle or carton). If your tangerines/oranges aren't particularly sweet, you may want to add some maple syrup or honey - do this when you add the stock or water.

Don't be put off by the longish ingredients list and method. Read through it once and you'll realise this recipe is actually very straightforward and requires very little hands-on cooking. This is a great interactive sharing dish; stuff pieces of fish into the lettuce leaves (fresh corn tortillas would be great, too), top with the herbs and dipping sauce and let it trickle down your wrists as you eat with your hands. You'll need four tangerines and two limes in total for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 x 800g sea bass, at room temperature

2 stalks of fresh rosemary

40g spring onions (about four thin ones)

fine salt

1 baby gem lettuce, leaves separated

5g fresh mint leaves

5g fresh coriander leaves

5g fresh basil leaves

lime wedges

Citrus butter:

40g unsalted butter

30g olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp tangerine juice

2 tsp lime juice

3 cloves of garlic, skin left on and crushed with the side of a knife

1 tsp fine salt

about 20 twists of freshly ground black pepper

Tangerine dipping sauce:

1 1/2 tsp pul biber (use red bell pepper flakes if you don't like heat)

1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped

1/4 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

3/4 tsp tomato purée/paste

1/4 tsp fine salt

1 1/2 tbsp mild and light olive oil

40g sweet, ripe cherry tomatoes, such as Datterini, very finely chopped

4 tbsp tangerine juice

2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp fish sauce or light soy sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 210C.

2. Pat the sea bass with kitchen towel to make sure it's as dry as possible. Transfer it to a 33 x 26cm non-stick high-sided baking tray, arranging it diagonally, so it fits. The tray shouldn't be much bigger than the fish, otherwise the citrus butter will burn. Use a very sharp knife to make five diagonal slits in the fish. Season the cavity with 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt, then stuff with the rosemary and spring onions.

3. Put all the ingredients for the citrus butter into a small saucepan and place on a medium heat until the butter has melted. Pour over and around the fish. Bake for 14 minutes (or longer if your fish is larger than 800g), then baste the fish well and turn the oven to the highest grill setting. Grill on the top shelf of the oven for four to six minutes, or until the skin begins to bubble and crisp. Keep a close eye, as some grills are much hotter than others.

4. While the fish is cooking, make the tangerine dipping sauce. Put the pul biber, garlic, ginger, tomato purée/paste and fine salt into a mortar and pound with a pestle to a rough paste.

5. Heat the oil in a small saucepan on a medium heat for one minute, then pour the hot oil into the mortar. Stir together, then add the chopped tomatoes, tangerine juice, lime juice and fish sauce.

6. Once cooked, transfer the sea bass to a large platter with the browned citrus butter. Discard the garlic skins. Serve with the lettuce and soft herbs to make parcels with, and the dipping sauce and lime wedges alongside.

Make ahead: The dipping sauce can be made up to two days ahead.

Serves 2.