Holy Mole!

Having grown up in Southern California, I love me some Mexican food. Unfortunately I discovered rather quickly that the east coast is sorely lacking in authentic Mexican restaurants. Let's just say that the first "taco" I had out here reminded me more of sloppy Joe mix in a tortilla than the real deal. I figured if I couldn't go out for good south of the border fare, I would have to start making it myself. After some trial and error I came up with several dishes that satisfy the cravings I get for food that reminds me of home. One of my favorite things is a good carne asada taco. My sister is always asking me for recipes so I thought I'd share a few from tonight's dinner.

Carne Asada tacos with homemade guacamole and black beans and rice

Carne Asada Tacos
I use skirt steak for my tacos. It is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat and comes out so tender. You need ~1 pound of skirt steak and marinate it as follows.

Marinade
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 medium onion
1/4 c. lime juice (fresh lime)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbs. brown sugar


Put the skirt steak in a big Ziploc bag, add all ingredients into the bag, seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I like to marinate it over night,if I can remember to do it in advance, which is pretty much never.

When you are ready to grill the steak, remove it from the bag, toss the marinade and slap it on the grill for 2-3 minutes per side. It cooks really fast. Don't overcook the meat or else it will be chewy. Slice the steak up and put it into a warmed (also on the grill) corn tortilla and top with guacamole (recipe to follow).

Guacamole
Nothing is better to me than some corn chips and homemade guacamole. It is a little time consuming but well worth the effort.

3 ripe avocados
1 lime
1 medium tomato
1/2 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 small bunch of cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, slice a grid into the flesh (so it comes out of the skin in tiny squares) and scoop it into a bowl. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime. Dice tomato and onion, mince the garlic and add to the bowl. Chop cilantro and add to the bowl. Add salt and pepper (usually one generous pinch of salt and a few grinds from the pepper mill). Stir until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic against the guacamole and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, but it is even better the next day.

Black beans and Rice

It got his dish from my BIL's girlfriend. It is awesome!

1 c. cooked medium grain white rice

2 tbs. vegetable oil

1 medium onion diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

2/3 can of black beans, drained

1/s tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. Adobo seasoning

Cook rice, I use a rice cooker. While rice is cooking, saute onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 3 more minutes. Add cumin, coriander, and Adobo and cook for 3 more minutes. Drain most of the liquid from the black beans and add to the onions. Cook mixture for 3 minutes and then add the rice. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

There you have it. A really good meal, if I do say so myself. All in all it makes roughly 4 servings. Que aproveche!

P.S. I hate Blogger's haphazard formatting!!! Sorry.