Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Taco de Carne Asada on a Cabbage Tortilla with Chapulines
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
40 minutes
15 minutes
4 hours 55 minutes
Serves:
6 tacos (serves 6 as a starter)
Diana created this dish for America's Culinary Cup Season 1. She split a single flank steak in two, grilling one half as carne asada and hand-cutting the other into a raw tartare with dried chiles and toasted chapulines. Both halves sit inside one charred cabbage leaf, so cooked and raw meet in the...
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Ingredients
FOR THE CABBAGE TORTILLAS: 1 large green or savoy cabbage — you need 6 unblemished outer leaves 1 tbsp / 15 ml neutral oil 1/2 tsp / 3 g fine sea salt
FOR THE CARNE ASADA — THE GRILLED HALF: 2 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded 1 dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded 1/2 cup / 120 ml orange juice, freshly squeezed 1/4 cup / 60 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed 4 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp / 30 ml neutral oil 1 1/2 tsp / 9 g kosher salt 1/2 tsp / 1 g black pepper, freshly ground 12 oz / 340 g flank steak, trimmed and kept in one piece
FOR THE TARTARE — THE RAW HALF: 8 oz / 225 g flank steak, impeccably fresh 1-2 dried chiles de arbol 1 tbsp / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil 1 small shallot, very finely minced 1/2 tsp / 3 g fine sea salt 1 tbsp / 15 ml lime juice, added at the last moment
TO FINISH: 1/4 cup / 15 g chapulines (toasted Oaxacan grasshoppers) Flaky sea salt, to taste 2 limes, cut into wedges
EQUIPMENT: Charcoal grill, gas grill or ridged cast-iron griddle pan Sharp chef's knife, freshly honed Small dry frying pan Large pan of boiling water and a bowl of iced water Fine grater or spice grinder Instant-read thermometer (optional) Clean tray and cling film
Method
STEP 1: MARINATE THE GRILLING PORTION
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry pan over medium heat for about 30 seconds a side, until fragrant and very slightly darkened. Do not let them blacken or they will turn bitter. Soak them in hot water for 15 minutes, then blend with the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, neutral oil, kosher salt and black pepper to a loose paste. Put the 12 oz / 340 g piece of flank in a bag or dish with the marinade, turn to coat, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12. Beyond that the citrus breaks down the surface and the texture goes chalky.
STEP 2: PREPARE THE CABBAGE TORTILLAS
Peel six large outer leaves from the cabbage, keeping them whole. Pare the thick central rib flat with a knife held almost parallel to the board, so the leaf folds without cracking. Blanch the leaves for 45-60 seconds in well-salted boiling water, then plunge them into iced water. Drain and dry thoroughly. Brush lightly with the neutral oil, season with the fine sea salt, and char briefly on a very hot grill or griddle, 20-30 seconds a side, just enough for blistering and colour. They should stay pliable. Set aside.
STEP 3: GRILL THE CARNE ASADA
Bring the marinated flank to room temperature, then wipe off the excess marinade so the surface chars rather than stews. Get the grill or pan as hot as it will go. Grill for 3-4 minutes a side for medium-rare, to an internal 52-54C / 125-130F. Flank is thin and unforgiving, so err short. Rest for a full 10 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain and chop coarsely. The char and the beef-forward result it gives are the point of this half.
STEP 4: MAKE THE TARTARE
Keep the raw 8 oz / 225 g portion very cold throughout. Twenty minutes in the freezer before cutting makes it far easier to handle and much safer. Trim away every scrap of silverskin and connective tissue. Slice thinly against the grain, then cut across into a fine dice. Do not use a food processor; the texture collapses. Toast the chiles de arbol briefly in a dry pan, cool, and crush finely. Dress the beef with the extra-virgin olive oil, shallot, crushed chile and fine sea salt. Add the lime juice only in the final minute before serving, as acid begins curing the meat on contact and dulls the clean iron note that makes the raw half read as raw.
STEP 5: TOAST THE CHAPULINES
Warm the chapulines in a dry pan over medium heat for a minute or two, shaking often, until crisp and faintly toasted. Most are sold already seasoned with lime, salt and chile. Keep them dry and separate until assembly. Once they meet the tartare they soften within a few minutes and lose the crunch that is the point of them.
STEP 6: ASSEMBLE AND SERVE
Lay a charred cabbage leaf on each plate. Spoon the chopped carne asada along one side and the tartare along the other, so a single bite catches both. Scatter the chapulines over the top, finish with flaky sea salt, and serve at once with the lime wedges. These do not wait. Assemble at the table if you can.
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Instructions
FOR THE CABBAGE TORTILLAS:
1 large green or savoy cabbage — you need 6 unblemished outer leaves
1 tbsp / 15 ml neutral oil
1/2 tsp / 3 g fine sea salt
FOR THE CARNE ASADA — THE GRILLED HALF:
2 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 dried ancho chile, stemmed and seeded
1/2 cup / 120 ml orange juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup / 60 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp / 30 ml neutral oil
1 1/2 tsp / 9 g kosher salt
1/2 tsp / 1 g black pepper, freshly ground
12 oz / 340 g flank steak, trimmed and kept in one piece
FOR THE TARTARE — THE RAW HALF:
8 oz / 225 g flank steak, impeccably fresh
1-2 dried chiles de arbol
1 tbsp / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 small shallot, very finely minced
1/2 tsp / 3 g fine sea salt
1 tbsp / 15 ml lime juice, added at the last moment
TO FINISH:
1/4 cup / 15 g chapulines (toasted Oaxacan grasshoppers)
Flaky sea salt, to taste
2 limes, cut into wedges
EQUIPMENT:
Charcoal grill, gas grill or ridged cast-iron griddle pan
Sharp chef's knife, freshly honed
Small dry frying pan
Large pan of boiling water and a bowl of iced water
Fine grater or spice grinder
Instant-read thermometer (optional)
Clean tray and cling film
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: MARINATE THE GRILLING PORTION
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles in a dry pan over medium heat for about 30 seconds a side, until fragrant and very slightly darkened. Do not let them blacken or they will turn bitter. Soak them in hot water for 15 minutes, then blend with the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, neutral oil, kosher salt and black pepper to a loose paste. Put the 12 oz / 340 g piece of flank in a bag or dish with the marinade, turn to coat, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12. Beyond that the citrus breaks down the surface and the texture goes chalky.
STEP 2: PREPARE THE CABBAGE TORTILLAS
Peel six large outer leaves from the cabbage, keeping them whole. Pare the thick central rib flat with a knife held almost parallel to the board, so the leaf folds without cracking. Blanch the leaves for 45-60 seconds in well-salted boiling water, then plunge them into iced water. Drain and dry thoroughly. Brush lightly with the neutral oil, season with the fine sea salt, and char briefly on a very hot grill or griddle, 20-30 seconds a side, just enough for blistering and colour. They should stay pliable. Set aside.
STEP 3: GRILL THE CARNE ASADA
Bring the marinated flank to room temperature, then wipe off the excess marinade so the surface chars rather than stews. Get the grill or pan as hot as it will go. Grill for 3-4 minutes a side for medium-rare, to an internal 52-54C / 125-130F. Flank is thin and unforgiving, so err short. Rest for a full 10 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain and chop coarsely. The char and the beef-forward result it gives are the point of this half.
STEP 4: MAKE THE TARTARE
Keep the raw 8 oz / 225 g portion very cold throughout. Twenty minutes in the freezer before cutting makes it far easier to handle and much safer. Trim away every scrap of silverskin and connective tissue. Slice thinly against the grain, then cut across into a fine dice. Do not use a food processor; the texture collapses. Toast the chiles de arbol briefly in a dry pan, cool, and crush finely. Dress the beef with the extra-virgin olive oil, shallot, crushed chile and fine sea salt. Add the lime juice only in the final minute before serving, as acid begins curing the meat on contact and dulls the clean iron note that makes the raw half read as raw.
STEP 5: TOAST THE CHAPULINES
Warm the chapulines in a dry pan over medium heat for a minute or two, shaking often, until crisp and faintly toasted. Most are sold already seasoned with lime, salt and chile. Keep them dry and separate until assembly. Once they meet the tartare they soften within a few minutes and lose the crunch that is the point of them.
STEP 6: ASSEMBLE AND SERVE
Lay a charred cabbage leaf on each plate. Spoon the chopped carne asada along one side and the tartare along the other, so a single bite catches both. Scatter the chapulines over the top, finish with flaky sea salt, and serve at once with the lime wedges. These do not wait. Assemble at the table if you can.
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