Shredded beef tacos

Creative tacos and quesadillas have become one of my favorite go-to meals. I think it's because there is so much you can do with them. And soft tortillas are the way to go with tacos, I think. A nice, soft tortilla toasted up in the oven or in a hot pan. It's just right. I like to buy a variety of 6-inch tortillas such as multigrain, corn and whole wheat blends, etc.

I was so excited to open up Might Spice Cookbook, a gift from my mother-in-law, this Christmas. The pictures are beautiful. And the shredded beef tacos from this cookbook are beautiful.

Shredded beef tacos

Adapted from Mighty Spice Cookbook - Fast, Fresh and Vibrant Dishes Using No More Than 5 Spices for Each Recipe

Serves 4. 

Ingredients:

1lb. 2 oz. skirt steak

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 green jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

a pinch of sugar

8 6-inch tortillas, heated

scant 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (optional)

1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded

4-6 radishes, thinly sliced

3 oz. feta cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Add beef, turn heat down to low, and simmer 30 minutes, or until beef is cooked through. Remove beef from water and set aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes, or until onion is golden. Add tomatoes, oregano, thyme, jalapeño, vinegar, tomato paste, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 20 minutes, or until mixture gets thick. Flake cooked beef and add to pan with tomato sauce. Turn up heat to medium and cook 3-4 minutes until beef is hot. To assemble tacos, place heaping tablespoon of beef into middle of tortillas with a bit of Greek yogurt. Scatter on lettuce, radishes, and feta, and enjoy.

I used some skirt steak I had leftover and frozen from another recipe. I also opted to top my tacos with some Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, as the recipe suggests. 

The beef and tomato mixture was so delightful. This sounds kind of funny to say, but Zack and I thought it almost tasted like beef bolognese. Must have been the oregano and thyme that gave the dish this influence? That being said, these were delicious. The beef is so flavorful, the lettuce adds crunch, and the radishes give it a slightly bitter bite that is really growing on me. "Mighty Spice" was mighty good. You'll be seeing more recipes from this cookbook in the near future.

You regular readers may have noticed that I am now including the recipes, typed-out, in my actual post. That way, you can see adaptations I have made to the recipes. Exploratory, right? And here is a link to the original recipe, for your convenience: Shredded beef tacos.

See you back here, soon. Cheers.