For most people here in England, taco means Old El Paso. Or maybe Discovery. Crispy tortilla shell with a spoonful of mince that’s been browned and seasoned with a salty, sweetened packet of powder. Chopped lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, a dollop of soured cream. Gloopy salsa from a pouch or a jar. But let me tell you, my friends, there is another kind of taco – a real taco, a fresh, amazing taco. I am here to show you the way!
First of all, no mince, please. That doesn’t mean you have to buy fancy cuts. I made these tacos with a pack of pre-cut organic stewing beef from the reduced-to-sell bin. It was less than £2 and was more than enough for me and the Mister. In fact, the cheaper the cut, the more authentic your taco will be. Just remember, the cheaper it is, the longer it will take to cook, so plan ahead! I used the slow cooker this time. The night before, I mixed the stewing beef with the juice of an orange, a big pinch of cumin, a big pinch of chipotle chili powder (plain chili powder would work fine), salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. The next morning before work, I just took it out of the fridge and plopped it into the slow cooker with a couple of cloves of garlic that I smashed as best as I could with my fingers since I don’t trust myself with a knife that early (by the way, if you put on your makeup after you smash garlic with your fingers, even if you wash your hands, your face will smell of garlic all day. Consider yourself warned). After eight hours on low, the beef was tender enough to fall apart when poked with a fork. It was not, however, crispy on the edges. This is important to me, so I tipped the whole shebang into a pan and cooked it over high heat until all the liquid evaporated and the shreddy chunks of beef were nice and brown. See?
So this is your filling. Before you finished it up, you should have made your toppings. Sorry! I forgot to mention that. You can use jarred salsa if you like. I wouldn’t, unless it was really awesome jarred salsa. It does exist, just not generally in this country. Definitely not at Morrison’s, or Tesco, or Sainsbury’s. Not to worry, though, home made salsas are much better and very, very easy. This time, I made an avocado and tomato salsa with cubed ripe avocado, 3 small, ripe chopped tomatoes (seeds and goop squeezed out), a little onion, a chopped fresh chili, juice of one fresh lime, a teaspoon of cider vinegar, salt, a little cumin, and fresh coriander. By the way, sniff your tomatoes before you buy them! If they don’t smell like anything, they are worthless, no matter how red they are. If you don’t know how a tomato is supposed to smell, wait a few months until you find a ripe one in a garden, and have a good sniff. If you can’t find tomato-smelling tomatoes in the store then just do without. So back to our regularly scheduled taco programming. I also made a vinegary apple slaw. This sounds strange, but it’s kind of similar to jicama in vinegar, which is very traditional in Mexico. Jicama isn’t as sweet as apple but the texture is very similar. This slaw is easy to make, just an apple and about 1/4 of an onion chopped into thin matchsticks marinated for about 20 minutes in white or cider vinegar and water to cover (1 part of each) along with about a tablespoon of sugar. Other ideas for toppings – thinly sliced radish, crumbly white cheese (feta is good, as is Caerphilly, but not cheddar!) or thinly sliced iceberg lettuce sprinkled with salt and vinegar.
So, here’s the finished product with the salsa and the slaw and a drizzle of creme fraiche thinned with a little milk. You can use soured cream, too, but make sure to thin it out so it’s drizzle-able. That’s a corn tortilla you see there, toasted in a dry skillet until it’s hot and pliable and a little puffy with brown toasty spots. OMG so good. However, I know that corn tortillas are hard to find in the UK, so flour is acceptable. Flour tortillas in this country are almost always huge, though, so if the ones you use are larger than 4-5 inches across, you should cut them in half. If they’re REALLY huge, cut them in fourths. You’re not making burritos here – a taco should be three good bites, four at the most. As you can see in the photo, a proper taco is barely bigger than my teeny little mouse hand.
So you’re going to make some real tacos soon, right? If you don’t feel like cooking your filling low-and-slow all day long, not to worry. Rump steak and chicken breasts make great filling, too. Just marinate in the orange juice mixture I told you about up there while you’re at work and then when you get home, cook the steak or chicken breast in a skillet or grill pan before slicing as thin as you can against the grain. I’d leave the rump steak rare, but not the chicken obviously! I’d also pound the chicken out thin before marinating it but that’s just me. You could also get crazy and try some international tacos! Marinate the meat in Indian curry spices and lime juice, serve with mango chutney, lime pickle, and cucumber raita and wrap in chappatis. Or marinate in greek spices and yogurt and serve with hummous and olives and feta in a pita. If you’re a veggie (you weirdo), you can even use the taco marinade with chunks of onion, courgette, and mushrooms before cooking in a little oil over high heat until delicious and tender with browned, crispy edges.
Tacos! Yay!
