Tag: pico de gallo

Carne Asada Tacos With Mango Pinnaple Pico de Gallo and Chimichuri

Carne Asada Tacos

I love skirt steak, but the price has gotten out of hand in the past few years. That is why I was very excited other day when I came across some skirt steak on sale at the grocery store. Carne asada is a term that translates to “grilled meat” in Spanish, and is a marinated meat dish that is often made with skirt steak. Carne asada makes a great taco filling, and I love tacos.

Of course you can’t just have meat in your tacos, you need toppings. Chimichurri is an herb based sauce that originates from Argentina that goes great with steak.  It adds earthiness and a touch of heat to cut the richness of the beef.  It is super easy to make, you just finely chop the ingredients and mix. No cooking necessary.  I made it even easier, using the mini food processor attachment that came with my immersion blender.

I also wanted something fresh and bright with a touch of sweetness in my tacos.  Pineapples and mangos just happened to be a good price at the produce store, so I decided to use them to make a pico de gallo. Pico de gallo is a fresh salsa, that is way better than anything you get from the grocery store in a jar. Again, super easy, just chop and mix! No cooking necessary!

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Carne Asada Tacos
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Carne Assada Tacos
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: Argentine, Mexican, South American, Tex-Mex
Keyword: Taco, Tacos
Servings: 2 Servings
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • Juice of 1 Orange
  • Juice of 1 Grapefruit
  • 5 Cloves Garlic Roughly Chopped
  • 1 Small Onion Roughly Chopped
  • 1 Handfull Cilantro Roughly Chopped
  • 1 lb Skirt Steak
  • 12 Small Corn Torillas Street style size
  • Chimichuri See recipe below
  • Pineapple Mango Pico de Gallo See recipe below
Instructions

  1. Combine the orange juice, grapefruit juice, garic, onion, and cilantro in a large ziplock bag. Cut the steak in manageable pieces and add to the bag.

  2. Place the bag with steak and marinade into the fridge for 3 hours to overnight.

  3. Remove the steak from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.

  4. Fire up your grill or place a cast iron skillet on the stove over high heat. Cook the steaks on each side until you get a good sear. Do not cook skirt steak past medium or it will be tough.

  5. Let yout steak rest for 5 minutes. While the steak rests lightly grill or broil your torillias, until they just start to get some color.

  6. Cut your steak into 3 inch long pieces. Then slice thinly against the grain.

  7. Construct your tacos with two tortillas each so they don't fall apart. Add your meat and top with the pico and chimichuri. Serve immediately.

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Mango Pineapple Pico de Gallo
Prep Time
15 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

A fresh salsa that is quick and easy to make.  It is great for brightening up a dish by bringing a pop of acid.

Course: Dip
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 1 Mango Diced
  • 1/4 Pineapple Diced
  • 3 Plum Tomatoes Diced
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper Diced
  • 1 Small Red Onion Diced
  • 1 Cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro Substitute with parsley if you don't like cilantro
  • 1 Jalapeno Diced, optional
  • 1/4 Cup Lime Juice
  • Salt and Pepper To taste
Instructions

  1. Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.  Let chill in the refrigerator for an hour for the flavors to come together before serving. 

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Chimichurri
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Chimichurri Sauce
Prep Time
15 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

Chimichurri is a great sauce from Argentina usually served on grilled meat. It consists of earthy flavors of herbs combined with sharp flavors of chili, garlic, onions, and vinegar and is great for taming rich and heavy dishes.

Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Argentine, Latin, South American
Keyword: Chimichurri
Servings: 2 Cups
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Cilantro or Parsley Chopped finely
  • 5 cloves Garlic Chopped finely
  • 1 Scallion Chopped finely
  • 1 Tbsp Red Chili Flakes
  • 3/4 cup Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Kosher Salt To taste
Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine. 

Fish Tacos With Mango Peach Pico De Gallo

Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos

The “Three Weeks” are upon us and we are fast approaching the “Nine Days“.  During the Nine Days many Ashkenazi Orthodox Jews refrain from eating meat and poultry. Fish is often the go to protein for many people during that time. I love tacos! Tacos are the worlds most flexible food. You can fill a taco with almost anything. You can top a taco with as much or as little as you would like.  So for the Nine Days why not go with the ever popular fish tacos?

For fish tacos I would stay away from any fish that are too oily, like mackerel. Stick with a basic firm fleshed white fish like cod.  In the Chicagoland area we have something called “White Fish”.  I am not sure exactly what species is it , but seems to work well for fish tacos.  In a pinch you can use tilapia, but it often comes frozen or previously frozen and thawed, and I find it has a slightly “fishy” taste, so I tend to avoid it.

Talking Tortillas

As for a tortilla I went with a basic medium sized corn tortilla. If you really want to get fancy you can make you own tortillas. I recommend my recipe for poblano tortillas. If you want something more suited for an appetizer or hor d’oeuvre you can use a small “street Taco” sized to tortilla. I like the texture you get from corn tortilla, but if you prefer a flour tortilla go for it. Like I said, tacos are flexible.  

Peach Pico

With summer upon us, peaches are in season. Mixing the peaches with the brightness of mango, the heat of jalapeno, and sharpness of the red onion makes a great balanced pico de gallo to top your fish tacos. Note that I don’t include tomatoes in my pico , as I abhor raw tomatoes (but love ketchup), but if you like them feel free to add them in. Also, with fish tacos you have the opportunity to use real dairy. A basic crema is super easy to make.  I just combine standard sour cream with the zest and juice of a lime, but  you can use crème fraîche or add some other flavors, have fun with it. 

Check out some of our other meat and poultry free recipes:

Meatless-stuffed Eggplant with Cilantro Tahini Sauce

Spinach Ravioli With Alfredo Sauce

Tostito Tacos

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Fish Tacos
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Fish Tacos With Mango Peach Pico De Gallo
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
 

A tasty taco, great for when you want something a little lighter or can't have meat.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Snack
Cuisine: baja, Mexican, Tex-Mex
Keyword: Fish Taco
Servings: 3 Tacos
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
Fried Fish
  • ½ lb Firm Fleshed White Fish Such as Cod Skin removed.
  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour Divided.
  • 1 Cup Beer Nothing fancy or too heavy.
  • 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper Powder
  • Salt and Pepper To taste
  • Neutral Oil for Frying Such as vegetable or canola. This is NOT the time to use your fancy extra virgin olive oil.
  • 3 Medium Sized White Corn Flour Tortilla
Mango Peach Pico De Gallo
  • ½ Cup Fresh Diced Mango
  • ½ Cup Fresh Diced Peach
  • ¼ Cup Diced Red Onion
  • ¼ Cup Diced Jalapeno
  • Juice of One Lime
  • ¼ Cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves Stems removed
  • 1 tsp Salt
Crema
  • 8 oz Sour Cream
  • Juice and Zest of One Lime
Instructions
Mango Peach Pico De Gallo

  1. In a mixing bowl combined the mango, peach, onion, jalapeno, salt, lime juice, and cilantro. Mix with a large spoon until all the components are well distributed.

Crema

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine the sour cream with the lime juice and zest.

Fish Tacos

  1. In a mixing bowl combine the cayenne pepper powder and half the flour (½ cup) with the beer (1 cup). Stir until there the mixture forms a thin batter. The batter should be fairly runny. Put the batter aside to allow the flour to hydrate and the gluten to relax.

  2. Cut your fish in to 1"x4" strips. If your fish has skin remove it.

  3. Add enough oil to a frying pan to come about a ½" up the side, and place on the stove over medium heat. Allow the oil to come to 350°F

  4. In a shallow dish add the salt and pepper to the remainder of the flour (½ cup) and stir to distribute. Lightly dust your fish strips in the flour, then dip in to the batter and allow the excess to drip off. You only want a thin coating of batter.

  5. Fry until golden brown on each side. It should only take a about 2 minutes per side, but cook to desired color not time.

  6. Once your fish is fried remove the pan from the fire and use the burner to toast your tortillas. Place each tortilla directly on the grate flipping every five seconds until they just begin to char around the edges and start to get some dark spots. Alternatively you can place them under the broiler on low for a few seconds to achieve the same effect.

  7. Place a piece of your fish in your tortilla, top with the mango peach pico de gallo, drizzle on some crema, and enjoy.