Time to celebrate Taco Thursday
It’s often Taco Tuesday in my home, but with Cinco de Mayo landing on Thursday, May 5, I might just have to make an exception next week. I love classic Mexican cuisine, which to be honest is a lot more diverse than we think. Let’s push aside the nachos with processed cheese and
Tex Mex fajitas and make some great authentic Mexican fare. There’s such a depth of flavour and variety of ingredients in traditional Mexican cuisine that, unfortunately, in the context of North America gets limited to avocados, limes and tortillas. Truth be told, tacos are a staple of Mexican cuisine but there are many more options than the ground beef and “Mexican seasoning” most often seen in North America. Tacos in Mexico are an artform, with hundreds of regional, even communitybased recipes.
While our interpretation of Mexican food culture is a little askew, there is some validity to our image of Mexico and margaritas. This lime, tequila, agave syrup and saltbased cocktail is often served in Mexico. Another classic Mexican mixed drink is the Paloma, made by simply filling a highball glass with ice and topping with tequila and grapefruit soda. There’s a lot of Fresca enjoyed in Mexico. I recently discovered Harvestwines.ca, a Nova Scotia-based online wine, beer and spirits retailer, sells a Margarita kit complete with tequila, bitters, agave syrup, lime juice and salt. It even comes with a pitcher so you can make a batch of Margaritas. Sounds delicious to me.
GRILLED FLANK STEAK TACOS
Serves 6
4 plum tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
2-3 dried guajillo peppers* 11/2 tbsp olive oil
2 lb flank steak, room temperature
Coarse salt
Charred tomato salsa, to serve
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped, to serve
2 spring onion, diced
Cojita cheese, crumbled, to serve
Limes, cut into wedges, to serve
12 tortillas, fried, to serve Directions: Set a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the tomatoes and garlic. Blacken on all sides. Transfer to a blender. Add the peppers and toast until fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. Add peppers to blender. Blend until smooth. Place a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Season flank steak with a generous amount of salt. Add to pan and sear for two to three minutes. Flip and sear for two to three more minutes. Let steak rest for five to 10 minutes. Slice against the grain into thin strips. Serve tortillas topped with flank steak, avocado, onion, crumbled Cojita cheese and salsa. Accompany with lime wedges.
*If you can’t find guajillo peppers, use the more readily available ancho chili peppers.
CHEESE TACOS WITH GREEN SALSA
4 servings
2 cans tomatillos, drained 3 shallots, peeled
4 serrano chilies
2 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
Salt, to taste
1 lb fresh mozzarella (or asadero cheese, if you can find it), cubed
12 corn tortillas, fried, to serve
Pickled red onion, to serve Directons: Start by making green salsa. Place tomatillos, shallot, chilies and garlic in a cast iron pan set to mediumhigh heat. Place one green tomato, onion, serrano chiles and garlic in a dry mediumhot pan. When vegetables are charred, remove from heat and let cool. Remove skin from garlic. Add all, along with a 1/4 cup of water, to a blender. Blend until smooth. Return to pan along with the cumin, oregano and cilantro. Simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt, to taste. Place cubes of cheese on tortilla shells, top with green salsa, pickled red onion and extra cilantro leaves for garnish.
POTATO AND CHORIZO TACOS
4 servings
1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil 3 Mexican-style chorizo sausages, casing removed
1/2 medium white onion Green salsa (see Cheese Tacos and Green Salsa recipe)
Cojita, or other fresh cheese, crumbled, to serve
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 12 tortillas, fried Directions: Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and set aside. Place a large pan over medium heat. Add vegetable oil. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the chorizo to pan and brown. Return potatoes to pan and sauté until potatoes get a little colour on all sides (four to five minutes). Pour off excess fat. Place warm chorizo mixture on tortillas and top with salsa, cheese and cilantro.
Mark DeWolf is currently the creative director of food and drink at the SaltWire Network, director of marketing and communications of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) and past-president of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS). He enjoys drinking, eating, writing and talking about wine, beer and food.