We make tortillas; Grilled Chipotle Flank Steak

Inspired by the Aug/Sept. Mexico issue of Saveur, my husband bought the tortilla press we’ve long been eyeing at the local market. Long been eyeing and not buying because the Little Kitchen’s cupboards have a limited amount of extra space at this point.

But he took the plunge and we found that making corn tortillas is great fun for a kid and an adult, because someone needs to press while the other fries. Milo and I had a cozy afternoon making tortillas. 

 

We bought a pre-made tortilla dough, but we want to try making our own next. The tortillas seemed thicker and chewier than pre-made corn tortillas. They were thinner than a sope, but reminded me of a sope in texture. 

t took us a few batches to figure out what “done” looked like in a tortilla. We learned to wait for the bubbles to start to appear in the tortilla. We used oil in the pan, but we’re going to experiment with that next time as well. 

To fill our tacos, we made homemade vegetarian refried beans (next post) and adapted a recipe from Saveur for grilled flank steak (my version is lazier to make and a lot less spicy.)

Grilled Chipotle Flank Steak (adapted from Saveur’s “Tacos de Carne Asada”)

Flank steak, about 1 or 1.5 lb., cut into large but manageable pieces

NOTE:  our market sells arrachera, which is flank steak that’s been manually tenderized using a machine that chops small holes partly through the meat. If you don’t have access to this, you can use a sharp knife to make little slices against the grain of the meat but not all the way through – or skip it – it will still be yummy although chewier. (Google tells me that there is something called arrachera which is a pre-marinated bagged steak, but I haven’t seen that.)

marinade:

4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped

3 tblsp. oil

2 canned chipotles in adobo, chopped, and a bit of extra adobo sauce (2 chiles, not 2 cans – but still plenty hot. For a milder version, use the extra sauce but only ½-1 chopped chipotle)

1 small onion, chopped

Juice of 2 limes

Put marinade ingredients in immersion blender cup and puree. Put flank steak into a baking dish and pour marinade on steaks, turning to cover. (you could also use a large zip-type bag.) Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

marinating

Heat a gas grill to medium-high heat. You may want to put down a layer of aluminum foil and spray oil on it. Brush excess marinade off the steak. Cook (turning once) until done, about 6-9 minutes. If steak pieces are thick, cut to test doneness.

delicioso

Serve in tacos: with tortillas, chopped tomato, cilantro, fresh lime wedges, and your other favorite toppings.

Chilaquiles with eggs

No matter how we parents talk the big talk about how our kids will eat your vegetables and enjoy what you are lucky enough to get, darnit, we can't help but feel warm and fuzzy when they love whatever goes on the table for dinner.

And a meal that had my 10yo asking his dad to make it for his birthday party? A meal that cost maybe $2 for the four of us? A meal that is piquant and savory, filling, fast, and meatless? That's a perfect first recipe for a new blog.

Chilaquiles with eggs and queso fresco, garnished with yellow tomato and avocado

This recipe is forgiving of modifications - whatever you have or like, go ahead and throw it in. Tom says that authentic Mexican restaurants don't serve it with eggs, but we found it delicious that way. He also says restaurants will deep fry the tortillas - we don't have a deep-fryer, so he just crisps them a bit in the pan.

Chilaquiles with eggs

Ingredients

Soft corn tortillas, about 6 or 8, cut into about 1" to 2" pieces. (slightly stale tortillas are fine.)

Vegetable oil (for sauteing)

medium onion, chopped into small pieces

green pepper, chopped into small pieces

(and/or one small can mild green chiles)

4 cloves garlic 

about 1/2 cup red tomato salsa (we use medium heat)

8 oz. can tomato sauce (mexican style is fine, or plain old hunts)

Salt and pepper to taste

For topping:

4 eggs (8 if your diners are really hungry)

Green onion, chopped

(optional) cilantro, avocado, sour cream, queso fresco, thin-sliced radishes, hot sauce

Fry tortillas in a little bit of oil in a large nonstick skillet, until crisp. Put aside on a paper towel to drain.

In the same pan, saute onion, green pepper over low heat. When 90% soft, add garlic. Saute until everything is soft and your kitchen smells like heaven. Add salsa and tomato sauce. On low heat, simmer  for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add fried tortillas and allow to continue to cook another 2-3 minutes until tortillas have soaked up the sauce. 

Serve topped with green onion and fried egg. Add optional toppings as desired.

Serves 4