When it comes to having a party, there’s always a a default food option for me. Something fun. Something easy. Something everyone can assemble themselves, leaving you with less work to do on the day. Preferably something where the bulk of prep can be done in advance.
It almost inevitably comes down to Mexican. What’s not to like? Buy a whole lot of tacos (corn tacos, mind you, not the crappy supermarket variety), make some salsa, guacamole and top it off with your choice of black beans for the vegetarians, or chargrilled flank steak marinated in chipotle for the meat eaters. Or both. Finish with hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon. Wins every time.
If you’re in Canberra, you can get authentic corn tacos – white, yellow and blue – from Deli Alimente in Manuka. They come straight from the amazing people at Fireworks Foods in Sydney. (Actually, don’t click that link if you have a weakness for hot sauce, chipotle peppers or anything and everything Mexican.) The ones at Deli Alimente are frozen – just defrost in the fridge and warm on the barbecue before serving. You’ll find all the other trimmings you need for tacos, including queso fresco, chipotle and a whole lot of other delicious things at their Manuka store.
Flank steak is a little trickier. Costco is the obvious choice but if you’re not a member, try good butchers. You’ll probably have to order it in advance. It’s an excellent budget option for tacos, full of rich meaty flavour and thinly sliced, it’s really just the perfect taco filling.
I’d recommend marinating the steak a day in advance. The night before or the morning of, make the salsa, guacamole and all the other trimmings. When it comes time to eat, all you have to do is crank up the barbecue to grill your steak and warm the tacos.
- 1kg flank steak
- 4 tbsp whole chipotle in adobo
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 cup dried black turtle beans
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 4 avocados
- 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- ¼ bunch coriander, leaves only, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- dash of tabasco
- salt, to taste
- 5 ripe truss tomatoes, diced
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- ¼ bunch coriander, leaves only, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- salt, to taste
- 25-30 corn tacos
- cooked corn, off the cob (optional)
- various Mexican hot sauces
- lemon or lime wedges
- Marinate the beef with chipotle and lime juice. The easiest way to do this is to blend the chipotle with lime, then rub all over the flank steak.
- Cook the black beans. Drain and rinse the beans. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic then cook until soft. Reduce heat to low, add the spices. Then add beans and 300ml water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding extra water if necessary, for 1½ hours or until beans are tender.
- Make guacamole. Remove skin and seed from avocados, place in a large bowl then mash using a fork. Add garlic, onion, coriander, lime juice, tabasco and salt. Mix to combine. Cover in cling film and set aside in the fridge.
- Make salsa fresca. Dice tomatoes, then combine with onion, coriander, lime juice and salt. Cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge.
- Cook the steak. Heat barbecue or grill pan to high then cook steak to your liking. Remember to rest before carving the steak. And always carve against the grain, this is especially important for flank.
- Heat the tacos. Either warm them on the barbecue for 30 seconds per side or tightly wrap tortillas in alfoil and warm in an oven at 180C for 15 minutes.
See, look how much fun we’re having! Ok, so maybe most of the fun of Mexican comes from tequila. Still…
Hi Tash! Thanks for your comment on my cat post! I think I read about your cats before when I came here from Pinterest. They’re beautiful and I love their names! 🙂 Sorry for the loss of Grumpy. You are such a sweetie for fostering. I have thought about it too but it would be so hard to give them up. I’d be a crazy cat lady with 20 cats. I love your blog too! Everything looks delicious.
Ain’t nothing wrong with being a cat lady! Heehee. I suspect you’d be keener to get kid of kittens than you realise. Three or four running around is a lot of craziness for a few weeks. I’ve loved your blog too, so glad we could ‘meet’ 🙂