Bring friends together for carne asada taco night

Also follow this recipe in a photoessay by Kelley Van Dilla on the Miscellany's photojournalism blog, Exposure.

If there's one thing a good meal can do—besides nourish and sustain us—it's to take us somewhere. Food allows us to travel, to bring us back to our childhood, send us to our favorite vacation destination, give us a taste of a place we've never been, remind us of home. I was sitting outside with a good friend of mine a few weeks ago, the temperature below freezing and snow piled high on the ground, when he sighed, "What I would give for a carne asada taco right now…" His home is San Diego.

I called him that Sunday and invited him over to help me prepare the meal for this weekly column. Earlier that day, I had made a trip to Casa Latina on Main Street, an absolute haven for exciting, inexpensive Latin American ingredients. The store is certainly worth a trip if you've never been (and it's accessible via the Community Shuttle to boot!). When he walked in my front door, the skirt steak had been marinating in the mojo for hours, the rest of the ingredients were laid out along the countertop, and we were ready to get cooking. A couple of other friends joined us and our time in the kitchen was as much about preparing a meal as it was about traveling, talking about our homes, our favorite foods and our favorite places.

As Seth warmed tortillas, Luke chopped some onions for the pico de gallo and Kelley captured the evening through photos, we all realized the importance of cooking not solely as a life skill or fun time, but as an activity that truly brings people closer together. When we constructed our own carne asada masterpieces—piled high with pico de gallo, avocado, radishes and queso fresco—we were taking part in the creation of a memory, and taking a short vacation to San Diego, just north of the Mexican border, where the cuisine is vibrant and spicy, and heavily influenced by its southern neighbor.

Heavy reminiscing aside, creating a little taco bar or buffet is a great way to stretch a small budget into an exciting, delicious and filling meal. In addition to the items we used, you could have some shredded lettuce or cabbage, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, tomatillo salsa—the list is endless. I also recommend reserving some of the marinade (before adding the meat to it) and spooning some on top of your taco. The protein in this is also quite flexible—you could replace the steak with chicken or fish and use the same marinade, or go completely vegetarian and sauté some vegetables or use some beans. Because I was on such a tight budget, I knew that I wouldn't be able to purchase too much meat and would have to round out this meal with a satisfying side dish. The rice and beans were incredibly simple and were a fitting accompaniment to this Mexican-influenced meal.

Putting the finishing touches on this column and checking the weather forecast, I'm optimistic that taking a trip to warmer climates won't be necessary in the coming weeks. Springtime in New York is upon us, meaning that future columns will feature the bounty of the emerging green and will take advantage of all the Hudson Valley has to offer.

Carne Asada Tacos

15 6-inch corn tortillas
1 lb. skirt steak
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 limes
1 lemon
2 T vinegar
1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
1/4 c. + 2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/4t c. minced fresh cilantro
Pico de gallo (recipe follows)
1 bunch radishes, grated
1 sliced avocado
1 c. crumbled queso fresco
Lime wedges, to garnish
Cilantro leaves, to garnish

In a large bowl, combine the chopped garlic, juice from the four limes, juice from the lemon, vinegar, chopped jalepeno, 1/4 c. olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the skirt steak and let marinade for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

Once the meat has marinated, heat the 2 T olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the skirt steak to the pan and – depending on the thickness of the meat – cook for 1-3 minutes per side for medium doneness. Remove the steak and set aside to rest. Meanwhile, heat the corn tortillas by placing them in a dry skillet over medium heat and cooking 20-30 seconds per side. Place them in a warm oven to maintain their temperature.

When the meat has rested for about five minutes, slice it thinly into long strips. To assemble the tacos, place a few slices of meat in a corn tortilla, top with a spoonful of pico de gallo, some grated radishes, a couple slices of avocado, some queso fresco and some cilantro. Serve with extra lime wedges.

Pico de Gallo

1 red onion, finely chopped
6 plum tomatoes, seeded and cored, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
2 T minced fresh cilantro
2 limes, juiced
Salt, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside. Note: to seed and core the tomatoes, begin by slicing them in half, down through the top. With a paring knife remove the brown core from the top of each half and gently squeeze out all of the seeds and juice, leaving just the tomato flesh. Using seeded tomatoes will keep the pico de gallo looking fresher and less watery.

Black Beans and Rice

2 T olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 c. long grain rice
3 c. water
1 T ground cumin
1/2 t. ground cayenne pepper
1 14-oz. can black beans
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and cored, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the red onion and garlic and sauté 5-7 minutes. Add the red pepper and sauté 5 minutes more. Add the rice, cumin and cayenne to the pan and stir. Add the water and black beans – including their juice – and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked. A few minutes before it's done add the diced tomatoes and taste to adjust the seasoning.

Grocery List

Limes, $1.00
Radishes, $1.09
Jalapeno, $0.22
Tomatoes, $3.50
Queso Fresco, $2.49
Long grain rice, $1.39
Lemon, $0.49
Corn Tortillas, $0.99
Avocado, $1.00
Black beans, $1.09
Skirt Steak, $4.31
Cilantro, $0.89
Red onion, $0.66
Garlic, $0.30
Red Pepper, $0.22
Total, $19.64

Products purchased at:

Casa Latina
651 Main Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
(845) 473-4096