Quercy Food Experiences
Eating, drinking and generally having a good time in France
Tropical beef tacos
As a kid tacos were always my favourite dinner. At first I thought Taco Bell was great (Americans will know what I am talking about and yes I am embarrassed) …but I soon gained an appreciation for my mom’s minced beef tacos and couldn’t get enough! I loved taco night.
This is a different take, drawing inspiration from another childhood favourite – Chinese Tangerine Beef, with the fun of a stuff your own taco.
It is really quite simple, comes together quickly an is something everyone can make their own with different toppings (seems to be a growing theme….but it really is a great way to encourage kids to experiment a bit with their food).
Beef filing:
- 500g beef steak (I use bavette)
- 2 oranges
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- pinch chili flakes (optional)
- 1Tablespoon peanut oil , pus anoter 1T for cooking
- 1Tablespoon corn starch
Zest 1 orange and juice 2 oranges, mix together with peanut oil, cumin, oregano and coriander in a shallow glass baking dish. Slice beef in to ~1/4 inch strips and mix in to the marinade. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes or overnight.
Pineapple Mango salsa:
- 1 cup pineapple chunks (or all mango or all pineapple works as well)
- 1 cup mango chunks
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 3 green onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- Juice of 1 lime
- ¼ t smoked paprika
- ½ t ground cumin
- ¼ t salt
- ½ cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1 chopped jalapeno (optional)
Pretty simple – chop it all up and mix it all together.
Cook it up: take the meat out of the marinade, put onto a plate and dab off excess marinade with a paper towel. Dust the beef strips with 1T corn starch and stir-fry in a hot skillet or wok in 1T peanut oilfor 3-5 minutes, until cooked through and a nice brown crust has formed. Add the remaining marinade back to the pan and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
Toppings:
- Shredded cabbage
- Chopped spring/green onion
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sliced radishes
Serve it up: Heat up 6-8 tortillas, put a few strips of meat in to each, add a selection of toppings and a bit of the salsa. Now that your taco is stuffed…stuff your face!
