FLOWER POT KITCHEN: TACO TUESDAY'S LIME AND CHILLI PICO DE GALLO STEAK TACOS

12 Mar 2015

TACO TUESDAY'S LIME AND CHILLI PICO DE GALLO STEAK TACOS

Dance on those taste buds, fresh zingy and vibrant lime and chilli sweet habanero pico de gallo steak taco, this gorgeous little number really packs a fresh punch from the zesty lime backed up with a hit from the fresh hot chilli tomato salsa balanced with the creamy avocado and cool sour cream a beautiful mouthful. The steak is seared sashimi style which gives you tender melt in the mouth texture and flavour, finished off loaded in a fresh corn masa taco, a perfect taco tuesday.

Ingredients

(serves 4)

2 cups of MaSeCa white corn masa

water

2 8oz sirloin steaks, trimmed

1 tbsp coconut or nut oil

4 handfuls mixed salad leaves

1 lime juiced

1 large tomato de-seeded chopped

1 tsp coriander chopped

1 habanero chopped

4 tbsp sour cream

1 avocado mashed

1 clove garlic grated

1 tbsp red pepper finely chopped

Sea salt

Black pepper

First make the fresh tacos, this is a simple and quick job, place the masa in a bowl and add enough water to bring together in a tight dough ball. Tear of a golf ball size and roll into a ball.

Cover your taco press with cling film top and bottom and press out your tacos, if using a rolling pin lay the ball on a sheet of cling film and top with another sheet and using your rolling pin roll out your tacos.

Cook the tacos for approx one minute on each side on a cast iron skillet, keep warm wrapped in a tea towel while you sear the steak and make the salsa.

Heat a skillet fairly hot, rub the steaks with a little oil and season with salt and pepper, sear all sides of the steak for around 30 seconds on each side, remove from the pan and leave to cool on the side. Make the salsa and avocado while the steaks cool. Slice the steaks on the diagonal and load your tacos with the mixed salad leaves, topped with the steak, avocado, sour cream and salsa.

The Salsa

Mix the tomatoes, habanero as little or as much as you like, a sprinkling of sea salt and black pepper, coriander and a tsp of lime juice, mix together.

Avocado Guacamole

Mix the grated garlic, red pepper and mashed avocado together, season with a sprinkling of sea salt and black pepper and a some of the lime juice.

No comments:

LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.