Homemade Corn Tacos with Beef, Chili and Cilantro

Episode 81: Portia's Menu

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

Two 8-ounce/225-g	New York steaks, excess fat trimmed, meat cut crosswise into thin strips
1 teaspoon/1 g	dried Mexican oregano
¾ teaspoon/3 g	salt
½ teaspoon/1 g	ground coriander
¼ teaspoon/.5 g	ground allspice
¼ teaspoon/.5 g	garlic powder
2 tablespoons/30 ml	olive oil
1	white onion, thinly sliced
1	small red jalapeno chili, thinly sliced
½ bunch	cilantro, chopped (about 2 tablespoons/3 g)
1 pound/450 g	freshly prepared masa dough for tortillas (available at Latin markets)
2 cups/110 g	thinly sliced romaine lettuce
1 cup/220 g	guacamole
½ cup/120 ml	purchased tomato salsa
¼ cup/60 g	crema mexicana

Preparation

Combine the steak strips, oregano, salt, coriander, allspice and garlic powder in a bowl and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based sauté pan over a high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes or until tender. Add the chilies and sauté for 2 minutes or until tender. Transfer the onion mixture to a platter and set aside.
Lay half of the beef slices in a single layer in the same pan and cook for 1 minute per side or until they are golden brown and medium to rare. Transfer the beef to the platter with the onions. Repeat with the remaining beef.
Return the beef and onion mixture to the pan. Add the cilantro and toss the beef slices together with the onion mixture and cook 1 minute longer. Transfer the beef and onion mixture to the platter. Fill the tortillas with the beef and onion mixture, lettuce, guacamole, tomato salsa and crema and serve immediately.
Preheat a medium-sized, nonstick sauté pan or heavy cast iron skillet over a medium to high heat. Shape 2 ounces/60 g of the masa dough into the size of a small golf ball. Place the masa ball between two sheets of plastic (a freezer bag split in two works well).
Flatten the plastic-covered masa ball in a tortilla press. If you don't have a tortilla press, you can use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is 1/16 inch/2 mm thick). Remove the tortilla from the press and peel off the plastic.
Place the tortilla in the pan or skillet and cook for about 1 minute or until brown spots appear on the bottom of the tortilla. Turn the tortilla and cook for about 1 minute longer or until brown spots appear on the bottom and the tortilla puffs slightly.
Transfer the tortilla to a kitchen towel and wrap the tortilla with the towel to keep it warm, or place the tortilla in a tortilla warmer. Repeat the process with the remaining masa dough (making approximately 8 tortillas in total).

Check out more recipes for Mexican