When on earth have I NOT had limes in the house? When?
Everyone has their go to grocery item that always makes it into the cart. For my mom, it was ALWAYS, ALWAYS celery. No matter how many stalks already resided in the fridge, mom bought celery. For me, its limes and lemons. Always...
Not that this is an excuse, but this last week we had some pretty significant flooding in the area and my trip to the market was nixed. So, no limes or lemons bought....or anything else for that matter.
Tonight, here I am trying to make a recipe to blog about and finding little in the pantry in the ingredient department. My previous recipe ideas put on hold, I find the steak taco recipe. There is NO way I can't have everything at my finger tips. Its my standard fare.
We begin the construction of dinner...paprika...check. Ancho Chile, check. Garlic, onion, check. etc....How can I be out of LIMES? How CAN I be out of limes!?! HOW can I be out of limes? While mind-boggling, its not to late to send my dear husband off to the store. Buy limes, LOTS and LOTS of limes. Oh, and pick up a bottle of Zin...
Enough of my lime rant. Lets get on to cooking some FABULOUS Skirt Steak Tacos and I do mean FABULOUS. (Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2011, page 140) Only three minor substitutions in this recipe which can be seen below. And, since starting this around 6 pm there was no way I was going to wait the two hours for the meat to marinade fully. (We had two skirt steaks on hand. Both went into the bag and one came out for dinner. The other steak will be grilled another night and I'll get back to whether or not the extended marination made any significant difference)
The lime and spice combination on the skirt steak was delicious. This will no doubt become a menu staple. As for the wine pairing of Zin...meh. I could take it or leave it. But keep your hands off my taco!
Enough of my lime rant. Lets get on to cooking some FABULOUS Skirt Steak Tacos and I do mean FABULOUS. (Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2011, page 140) Only three minor substitutions in this recipe which can be seen below. And, since starting this around 6 pm there was no way I was going to wait the two hours for the meat to marinade fully. (We had two skirt steaks on hand. Both went into the bag and one came out for dinner. The other steak will be grilled another night and I'll get back to whether or not the extended marination made any significant difference)
The lime and spice combination on the skirt steak was delicious. This will no doubt become a menu staple. As for the wine pairing of Zin...meh. I could take it or leave it. But keep your hands off my taco!
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| Slightly over toasted tortilla but delicious |
Chile Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon light brown sugar Xylitol
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil Olive Oil
1 1/2 pounds skirt steak, cut into 5-inch strips
12 corn tortillas,gluten free Rice tortillas, toasted
Pico de Gallo, Avocado Salsaand shredded cabbage, for serving
In a large re-seal-able plastic bag,
combine the paprika, ancho powder, garlic powder, onion powder, xylitol,
chipotle, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Add the lime juice and oil and
shake the bag to blend. Add the steak and seal the bag. Let the steak stand at
room temperature for 2 hours.
Light a grill or preheat a grill pan.
Grill the steak over moderately high heat, turning twice, until lightly charred
on the outside and medium-rare within, about 10 minutes. Transfer the steak to
a work surface and let rest for 10 minutes.
Thinly slice the steak and serve with
tortillas, Pico de Gallo, Avocado Salsa and cabbage.
SUGGESTED PAIRING
For anyone with a "high flavor set point" the steak taco dinner is amazing. Definitely steak coma. I found the dinner needed nothing else to be perfect, i.e. no side dishes; just the taco.
ReplyDeleteI went heavy on the marinade and used it while cooking the meat. That's probably not necessary, but I wasn't sorry - I loved it. The fresh cabbage balanced the big flavor, and gave it an extra texture, a snappy crunch that makes you want to keep eating with a vengeance. It feels good biting into it.
For the wine, I did something I'd otherwise never do. I picked a rose that had a slightly harsh, vinegary tartness. By itself, the wine was no fun, but it stood up nicely to the very flavored steak, and was pleasantly changed by it. The rose was called " Goats do Roam," I suppose a wink to Cotes du Rhone. Without the steak, it tastes like goats had been there, alright. But it was a nice surprise how the big taste of the marinade softened the wine, and the wine cleared the way for a fresh explosion of big steak flavor. Can't believe I even bought a rose, but, well, I don't know what comes over me sometimes. It worked! Since I was carefully following a recipe, which I never do, I had to take back my "fly by the seat of my pants" thing somehow. Beer pairing next time.
The steak taco is a hit! I couldn't think of a single thing I'd change. That was really fun!