Tacos de Carne with Cabbage Vinaigrette and Avocado Salsa Ensalada!

Tacos de Carne 

  Tacos de Carne have to be one of the easiest dishes to make in Mexican cuisine. Really! I mean there are so many ways to make tacos! It's unbelievable! At one time, someone mentioned, "Is that all you Californians have,.....tacos?" Well, "No......!" I mean we do have Menudo, Arroz con Pollo, Sopa, Tortas, Frijoles,  and many other Mexican foods!! Well, I'm sure there are more sophisticated foods, but these are just some of the common foods in the Mexican cuisine which derive from certain regions. Tacos are simply a humble food. Maybe it's because pretty much anyone can afford to buy and eat them. Although there are many other foods in the Mexican, Latin, Hispanic cuisine, Mexico is about a variety of foods because of the people, just like many other countries have in theirs. Now if you go pass the border and into South America, food changes, and after the Canal, you come into a complete diverse region of foods, and so forth. And then you enter into Brazil and all sorts of diverse foods, simply because of the influences of the natives along with other people who have settle bringing in their knowledge of foods from other lands. The diversity of ethnicity. As though Mexican cuisine weren't enough, right?! 

  My grandmother brought many culinary techniques, and baking was one of them. Very European, when she made her "pan dulce", sweet breads. Oh those beautiful pieces of bread that would simply melt in your mouth! She build her own adobe oven and would flame it up so hot, that it would only take 5 minutes for her breads to bake! Incredible!! Oh but those pieces were something I never had before in my life and still have not found. They were yeasty sweet pillows of softness! Where did she learn this? From her parents, I'm sure, or perhaps her grandmother. She was a bit shy, but when it came to getting things done, it was "no nonsense". 

  Learning that her name, Topete, originated from Portugal says a lot about her culinary expertise. Then she married my grandfather, more of the Spanish colony and Aztec, De Leon, and their sustainable food was corn; maize. Not that GMO stuff that everyone is so upset over. But beautiful grains of dry rich corn, influenced by the beautiful climate, fed all of their farm animals which sustained them for decades. Yes, what a gift to learn how to make those beautiful corn tortillas right from the grains of the land. That's where the tacos started, from the humble tortilla. The beautiful un-defiled corn tortilla. 

  When you are in California, one will find all sorts of tacos because of specific culinary influences, that take us back to the beginning of true roots of cuisine by the people you may be familiar with. So you won't be surprise if you find Arabic tacos, Indian tacos, Asian tacos, etc. Coming from the Hispanic part of me, I can say that I know a little something about tacos, and Tacos de Carne at that!! I hope you enjoy this recipe, because I had some real rest before making them! So they ought to turn out very tasty!! Thanks again for viewing my recipe videos and can't wait to share more of my recipes!

 

Video Making Tacos de Carne with Cabbage Vinaigrette and Avocado Salsa Ensalada ! Part 1

Beautiful Mise-en-place for that perfect Taco!

Mise-en-place for the best Tacos con Carne ever!!

Recipe ingredients for the Tacos:

Lean beef, 1 pound, thinly sliced into small 1/2" pieces

Saute cooking oil or XVOO canola oil mix (50/50), 2 tablespoons

Yellow onion or white, small, peeled and washed, thin julienne sliced, 1 cup

Bell pepper, rinsed medium, small diced, 1/2 cup

Fresh garlic cloves, 2-3, peeled and minced (optional)

Lime, juice from 1/2 (optional)

Chile powders, ground; California1 tablespoon, and 2 teaspoons of Pasilla

Smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon

Tomato sauce, 1/4 cup

Broth or water, or even wine if you prefer, 1/2 cup

Salt and pepper to taste

Organic corn tortillas

Saute oil, enough to oil skillet

  Heat saute pan with oil on medium high. Make sure you have selected the best meat. I like using lean. Season beef with salt, pepper, and garlic seasoning, if not using fresh garlic. Cook meat until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add onions, bell peppers, fresh garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, until you hear a sizzle, or until the liquid evaporates. Then add the rest of the seasonings and lime juice. Add tomato sauce and liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly tender. 

  Meanwhile heat up tortillas on a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Heat tortillas and place in a clean towel on a plate. or you can use another plate, inverted, (upside down) to cover the tortillas.

Mise-en-place for Avocado Salsa Ensalada ! 

Avocado Salsa Ensalada:

Radishes, 2-3, thinly sliced, thin and cut into a small julienne cuts
Large avocado, firm and ripe, medium diced
Green onions, washed, and thin sliced diagonally
Red onion. for color, small diced, 1/4 cup
Lime, juice from 1/2
Tomatoes, ripe, 1-2, small diced 2/3 cup to 1 cup, your preference
Cilantro, fine sliced an rough chopped, 1/4 cup
XVOO (extra virgin olive oil), 1-2 teaspoons
Salt and pepper to taste

  Place all ingredients into a medium size bowl. Gently mix ingredients and season to taste. Place this beautiful garnish on the side or on the tacos! Delicious!!

Avocado Salsa Ensalada!

Mise-en-place for Cabbage Vinaigrette! (Recipe for Avocado Salsa Ensalada-Above)

Ingredients for Cabbage Vinaigrette: 

Green and red cabbage, finely sliced, 1 cup

Lime, juice from 1/2

XVOO, 1 tablespoon

Cilantro, (optional), finely chopped, 1/4 cup

Salt and pepper to taste

  Mix cabbage with all ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Place this beautiful garnish in each taco. It will ad a crispy tangy crunch to your great tacos de carne.  

Video for Tacos de Carne with Cabbage Vinaigrette and Avocado Salsa Ensalada! Part 2

Grilling the tortillas and adding the fillings! 

  If you have not heated up the tortillas, no worries. Grill each tortilla on medium high heat. Warm the tortillas and turn them over. Add the meat and cheese in them. Fold each one and grill until slightly brown. Place tacos on plate. Fill the tacos cabbage and top with Avocado salsa! Grab a beer and enjoy!!

  A quick recipe for the squash flowers quesadillas can be found on my video with squash flowers. Very easy to make. Sliced flowers and place in a heated saute pan. Saute the julienne onions, bell peppers, jalapeno, with flowers. Then add the tomatoes, a bit of lime juice and chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Grill tortillas. Add flowers, cheese, and fold tortillas and grill until tortillas are slightly browned. Remove, dowse with salsa, and enjoy!!

Tacos de Carne accompanied with Non-gluten Zucchini Squash Quesadillas!