Homemade Corn Tacos with Beef, Chili and Cilantro
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).
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