Vegchefstef

In the past five or so years I have modified my diet once again to include animal proteins. I was a vegetarian for about 10 years and slowly moved back into the circle of meat eaters (of course they welcomed me back with wide open arms). I experimented with fish, then chicken and finally could officially no longer be called anything close to vegetarian, I was (and am) once again a meat eater. I ventured back into animal protein territory because of physical issues in my health that needed to be addressed. I will say that the re-inclusion of fish, chicken and red meat have all been quite beneficial to my physical being.

That all being said...this post is more about recipe discovery and tips for anyone who cooks or wants to than it is about my ethical and nutritional values and needs.

I recently tried Carne Asada for the first time this past year and had it once again just the other night in an SF restaurant. I have always loved tacos and eating this type of taco was so so enjoyable, flavorful and nourishing. I thought I might experiment with making it myself...here is the recipe I came up with based upon some internet findings. Look out for some basic tips that will help anyone cook up some healthy fresh food to follow!

Carne Asada Tacos
1/2 pound Flank steak or Skirt steak
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika

Vegetables for Tacos
1 Red Bell Pepper - sliced into strips
1/2 bunch Green Onions - Trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 - 1/2 Jalapeno Pepper - minced
1 Yellow or White Onion - Diced
1/4 bunch cilantro - leaves chopped rough
1 Tb. olive oil
6-8 small corn tortillas

Whisk all the ingredients (except the steak) together in a glass pyrex dish (the one you will use to marinade the meat in). Place the flank steak in the dish and coat with the marinade. Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour, and up to 8 hours, in the fridge.

While waiting for the meat to marinade, cut all your veggies up and get them ready for cooking!
Heat up the 1 Tb. of olive oil in a skillet and saute up the Red Bell Pepper until it starts to turn a bit charred and soft, add the green onions and saute until soft. Place cooked bell pepper and green onion on a plate to the side.

Heat up that same pan until it is very hot, pull the flank steak from the marinade and sear on each side. Remove the steak and place on a cutting board and add the diced onion and jalapeno to the skillet and saute until the onion is translucent. Cut the flank steak into strips and add it back to the pan with the onion and jalapeno until cooked all the way through.

Place some steak and vegetables in each tortilla and top with cilantro and any other fixings you choose!


This marinade would also be excellent on chicken, tofu or tempeh! This dish is fast (excluding the marinade time), fresh, healthy and really delicious!

Other ideas for this recipe:

- Place all warm ingredients in a larger tortilla and top with cheese, sour cream and salsa to make a large burrito.
- Make extra meat and vegetables and us them the next day cold in a spinach tortilla or lavash with a bunch of greens such as spinach or mixed greens to make a lunch wrap.
- Take the leftovers and place on top of a bed of fresh greens with a nice vinaigrette to make a salad.