This dinner is for two.

For us in George’s Kitchen you can’t beat Mexican food. It’s bursting with flavour, is super easy to make, and it’s more than reasonable, given today’s food prices, especially beef which is going through the roof.

We made steak tacos from a cheaper cut of beef, flank steak with a simple salad – black beans and corn.

Tasting Notes

Steak tacos are a delight, hitting all the flavour notes, spicy, earthy, rich, salty, hearty, robust, fresh, bright and acidic.

What You Need

1 flank steak – about eight ounces.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil.

4 small store-bought corn or wheat flour tortillas.

2 small jalapeños.

2 store-bought real Mexican salsas, one hot, one medium hot.

2 limes.

1 medium-sized can of black beans.

1 small can of corn.

3 medium-sized green onions.

1 handful cilantro.

8 small cherry tomatoes.

8 button mushrooms.

Equipment

1 medium-sized frying pan.

1 medium-sized bowl.

1 sieve.

Prepare Ahead

Open your cans of corn and black beans, pour into the sieve and rinse with water. Skake several times to get rid of the excess water and then put everything into your small bowl.

Cut up your cherry tomatoes in half, then add to the bowl.

Take your cilantro, chop finely. Divide into two portions, add one to bowl, set the other one aside.

Cut up one lime in half and squeeze the juice over the beans and corn.

Cut one jalapeno in half, removing the seeds with a spoon and all the white membrane, set aside. Now slice and dice the jalapeno, then add into the bowl.

Now add salt to taste to your salad and taste. Adjust the salt level to your liking.

Now you have to decide if the salad is to your liking or if you prefer it to be spicier. We like spicy so we add several of the jalapeño seeds into the salad, constantly tasting to see if it’s to our liking.

Take your button mushrooms and cut into small pieces, set aside.

Cut your green onions on the diagonal, set aside.

Method

Take your mushrooms, add to the medium frying pan that has been pre-heated on medium heat on your stove, no oil needed. Cook for a few minutes till the mushrooms are nice and brown, set aside.

Season your steak generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

Crank up the heat to high for the same frying pan that you used for the mushrooms adding one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Cook the steak quickly about three minutes on one side, two on the other. When done remove and let it rest for 15 minutes, then slice, using a sharp knife, to cut into thin strips. Once done set aside.

Take one tortilla at a time and toast on your stovetop element-we have natural gas so it’s easy- till the tortilla has some char marks on it. You can also do on an electric stove but it will take longer. Set aside and repeat the process for the other three tortillas.

You are now ready to assemble your tortilla – adding the various ingredients, starting with the steak strips, then adding the rest.

Enjoy