Tomatillo-Chilpotle Salsa

I usually make this sauce when making Tacos con Carne Asada. You can also make it as a dipping sauce for tortilla chips (see photo below). It can also accompany any grilled meat or chicken, veggies, potatoes, etc... As you see it has many uses!

This sauce has a smoky and spicy flavor from the chilpotle pepper that combines perfectly with your tacos. Chilpotle or, more widely known in the US as chipotle, is a smoked jalapeño used in Mexican cooking. You can find it dried, powdered or canned. I am using the canned version for this recipe, which you can usually find in the international section of your grocery store.

Tomatillo is a fruit that resembles a green tomato. It grows in a paper-like husk that has to be removed before cooking. Tomatillos are a staple of Mexican cooking and you can easily find them in US supermarkets.

Tips: The spiciness in this sauce comes from the chilpotle. If you don't like your sauce spicy, you should remove all the seeds from the jalapeños and skip the chilpotle.

TOMATILLO-CHILPOTLE SALSA

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1lb tomatillos (husks removed, rinsed and quartered)

1 medium tomato (quartered)

1 red onion (quartered)

2 jalapeños (seeds removed and cut in half lengthwise)

2 garlic cloves (peeled)

1-2 canned chilpotle peppers

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (chopped)

salt

Preheat broiler to high. Place tomatillos, tomato, onion, jalapeños and garlic on a baking pan, add the olive oil and mix well.  Place the baking pan in the oven on the top rack and cook until tender and slightly charred (about 25 minutes), turning the vegetables occasionally.

Ready to go in the oven

Vegetables are tender and slightly charred

Place the vegetables in a blender and pulse a few times until roughly blended. Stir in the cilantro and pulse again. Season with salt to taste.

Place salsa in an oven safe dish and bake at 450ºF with goat cheese for 10 minutes. Serve as an appetizer with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Tacos de Carne Asada with Caramelized Onions

The only secret to this Mexican dish is to marinate your flank steak. I like to marinate mine for about 2 hours in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before grilling. A mix of acidic, sweet and spicy marinade is perfect for this type of meat and will bring a tender, flavorful and well browned steak. You can grill your flank steak in one piece which adds more convenience. For the tacos, flank steak should be sliced very thinly against the grain; it should be cooked rare or medium-rare. Well-done flank steak is dry and rubbery. Always remember to allow meat to rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board before carving. Finally, don't worry if you have leftovers from your grilled flank steak. You will be able to use it in sandwiches, salads, more tacos the next day or just eat them straight out of the fridge with mustard.

The queen of this taco is the sauce, spicy and smoky, yields an incredible flavor to this dish. You can find the recipe to make the Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa here.

You can add whatever garnishes you like to your taco, including avocado, guacamole, queso fresco, micro greens, cilantro leaves, Mexican crema or sour cream, lime wedges, etc...

To warm your tortillas you will need to:

1. Preheat skillet or pan and warm one tortilla at a time; or
2. Place 6 tortillas in the microwave separated by a damp paper towel and heat for 30 to 40 seconds.

TACOS DE CARNE ASADA

Serves 4

2 lbs flank steak
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 orange
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 red onion (sliced)
1/2 cup tequila
1/4 teaspoon tabasco
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas (warmed)

Garnish with: queso fresco, avocado, guacamole, micro greens, cilantro, sour cream, lime.

Marinate and cook flank steak: Place meat in a shallow dish and add juice of lemon, lime, orange, the garlic cloves, red onion, tequila and tabasco. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Bring meat to room temperature. (While meat comes to room temperature you can start cooking the caramelized red onions -see below-) When ready to grill, pat dry meat with a paper towel and brush with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Heat a grill pan over high. Grill the steak over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Allow meat to rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board. Slice very thinly across the grain.

Cook the caramelized red onions: Heat a pan over high-medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add red onions from your marinade and reserve liquid. Cook onions for 10 minutes stirring occasionally, then add reserved liquid and cook over high until liquid has completely absorbed.


Place meat in warm tortillas and serve with caramelized red onions, Tomatillo-Chilpotle Salsa and other garnishes.

Enjoy!

Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa

Pasta with Broccoletti, Red Onion, Sausage and Cherry Tomatoes

Today I am making an easy pasta, perfect for any weekday night when everyone is in a rush! I am using broccoletti, a vegetable very similar to broccoli, but smaller and very sweet. Broccoletti is a hybrid vegetable between broccoli and gai lan or Asian broccoli. To me, the stem resembles the taste of green asparagus while the florets have broccoli notes. It is really tender and cooks very fast. You probably did not grow up eating broccoletti, the reason being it is a new vegetable that has been in the market since the 90s. Nowadays you can find broccoletti in every grocery store in the US.

Tips: Always cook your pasta al dente and reserve some of the pasta boiling water in case you need to add it to your sauce.
You can substitute cherry tomatoes for sun dried tomatoes. You can substitute broccoletti for broccoli.
If you buy sausages, cut and discard the casing; you will only need the meat for this recipe.

PASTA WITH BROCCOLETTI, RED ONION, SAUSAGE AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Serves 5

1lb  spaghetti or other pasta
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1lb broccoletti (washed and chopped into bite-size pieces)
1lb Italian sausage meat
1 red onion (sliced)
15-20 cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper

Ingredients

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In the meantime prepare the sauce. Heat a large deep pan over high heat and add olive oil and Italian sausage. Sauté the sausage meat breaking up with a spoon until browned (about 4 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and add the onions and broccoletti. Sauté stirring occasionally for about 3-4 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Boil the pasta until al dente according to package instructions and reserve 1/2 cup of starchy boiling water. Drain and do not rinse.

Toss the pasta in the sauce and add the 1/4 cup of reserved water and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately!

Enjoy!