SALSA AND TACOS FOR THE SUMMER

July 11, 2006
Show #502

If the cold weather seasons in Baltimore make us think about continental European cooking, the warm weather makes us think Latino. Here in our own hemisphere are dozens of culinary traditions that match up beautifully with the climate of Charm City. Cuban, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Mexican…you name it. It's a lot of fun to dabble in cookbooks with a Spanish accent. We've come across a delightfully informal cookbook that focuses on two staples of Southwest cooking. It's called "Salsas and Tacos", compiled by the Santa Fe School of Cooking, Gibbs Smith publishing, 2006. Soft flour tortillas, which are the basis for the taco shell, can be purchased in most grocery stores these days. The corn meal variety is also available. Here is a classic recipe that involves the famous "carne asada" meat dish.

CARNE ASADA TACO
(From "Salsas and Tacos," Santa Fe School for Cooking, Gibbs Smith, 2006)

2 1/2 pounds sirloin, chuck or tenderloin beef steak
Juice of 3 limes
3 tbs olive or vegetable oil
1 tbs chipotle chile powder
1 or 2 fresh jalapeno or Serrano chiles, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
8 fresh green onions (scallions), washed, trimmed and coated with vegetable oil
Corn or flour tacos

1.       Trim meat of excess fat and slice or butterfly the meat into a sheet about 3/8 inch thick.

2.       Place the meat between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and carefully pound it with a meat tenderizer mallet or rolling pin, to a 1/4 inch thickness.

3.       Coat meat with lime juice and brush lightly with oil. Sprinkle chile powder, chiles, garlic, scallions and black pepper evenly on both sides of meat.

4.       Allow to marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.

5.       Salt meat, and cook on charcoal grill of griddle alongside the green onions until beef is just cooked through and onions are beginning to brown. Allow meat to rest for 5 minutes.

6.       Slice the beef in long thin slices. Arrange on plate, top with green onions, and garnish with lime wedges. Serve with the tacos.

Yields 6-8 servings

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