Mexican fare
============ 2024-08-11


Comment: This meal was served to me by friends while visiting Arizona. Nothing too complicated, but much better than most restaurants. You need a few things for this dish:
- tortillas (round corn or wheat flour pancakes). They come in different sizes, here I use small ones (diameter 15 to 20 cm). They can be hard (taco shaped) or soft, which is my favorite.
- Meat: various possibilities, ground or sliced beef, pork, chicken. Here I use ground beef.
- Guacamole (recipe on this site that was passed on to me by a real Mexican named Olga!).
- Refried beans, I use a canned version (Old El Paso) that can be improved a bit.
- Mexican rice (rice cooked with tomato).
- Salsa, there are different commercial versions, with varying degrees of heat, in red or green (I prefer green and very hot).
- Sour cream, salad (in strips), grated Mexican cheese (you can replace it with not too strong cheddar).
- Optional green onion or chives.

Also inspired by beef tacos

Serves 4

Ingredients:
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Tortillas, count 2 to 3 tortillas per person

300 g lean ground beef
1 can of tomato pulp (400 g)
1 can of refried beans (Old El Paso)
160 g rice
200 ml chicken broth
2 onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 or 2 chipotle (dried or not - if dried let it moisten in a little water)
cumin
coriander powder
Mexican oregano (opt)
EVOO
S + P

2 green onions or chives
Mexican grated cheese (or cheddar)
Sour cream

Preparation:
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Make the guacamole according to the recipe here
Save the other half onion for the rice. If there is any lime juice left, add it to the meat.

For the rice, in a small saucepan with a lid, sweat the onion in a little EVOO, then add the garlic, cook for 1 minute more. Wash the rice 2 or 3 times, then add it to the saucepan and mix well. Prepare the broth for the rice with the 200 ml of chicken broth and 150 ml of tomato sauce. Bring to the boil briefly, cover, reduce the heat and leave on very low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

For the meat, in a frying pan, sweat 1 chopped onion in a little EVOO. Add 2 chopped garlic cloves, cook for another minute. Add the meat and cook, breaking up the pieces. Add the chopped chipotle, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano (opt), salt and pepper.
Add the rest of the tomato sauce, a pinch of sugar, simmer and reduce. Check the seasoning before serving.

For the refried beans, reheat the contents of the can in a small saucepan, add pepper, check the salt.

Chop the green part of the onions or chives in a small container.

Cut a few salad leaves into strips.

Serve:
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On the table: tortillas, meat, guacamole, refried beans, rice, salsa, sour cream, cheese, salad, green onions or chives.

Each person places a little meat, guacamole, salad, grated cheese, sour cream and salsa in their tortilla.
Roll the tortilla up, closing the bottom.
Eat with rice and refried beans sprinkled with green onion or chives.