Tastes of Mexico

This is a great recipe from Marge Poore. She is coming to our cooking school on May 15 and 16. One class will be on authentic Mexican foods and the other will feature Spanish cuisine. Our dessert class is Friday and still has plenty of room. Come and support us for these upcoming classes.

Enjoy these recipes.

Tequila lime flank steak with pickled red onions

Makes 6 servings

Pickled red onions (see recipe below)

2 beef flank steaks (each about 11⁄2 pounds)

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1⁄3 cup tequila

3 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

1⁄2 teaspoon bottled Maggi seasoning extract or Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoon vegetable oil plus extra for the grill

1⁄2 tsp salt or to taste

1. Prepare the onions. Then, trim the steaks of excess fat and silver skin. Score the steaks by making 20 cuts about 1⁄2 inch deep and 2 inches apart, diagonally across the meat in perpendicular directions to make a diamond pattern on both sides. Rub the meat all over with garlic and pepper. Place the steaks in a large shallow glass baking dish.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the tequila, lime juice, honey, Maggi and oil. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of marinade on each steak, and turn the steaks to coat. Reserve the remaining marinade. Cover and refrigerate the meat for 2-8 hours.

3. Remove the meat from the refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking. Have ready a hot outdoor grill or stove top grill pan over medium high heat. Pat the meat dry with paper towels, and season with salt just before grilling. Brush lightly with oil.

4. Grill the steaks on a hot greased grill over high heat or in the grill pan on medium high turning to brown the meat on both sides, 8-12 minutes for medium rare, depending on the thickness of the meat. Brush the steaks with reserved marinade for the last three minutes of cooking.

5. Remove the steaks to a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes. Cut across the grain into thin slices. Serve with pickled red onions scattered over the meat.

Pickled red onions

3 to 4 oz. chipotle chilis

11⁄2 cups water

11⁄2 cups cider vinegar

3⁄4 cup piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar) or dark brown sugar

8 whole allspice berries

2 cloves

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 small carrot peeled and thinly sliced

1⁄4 medium white onion sliced

Bring 11⁄2 cups water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Meanwhile, rinse the chilis. Remove the stems and seeds if desired.

When the water boils, add the chilis then add vinegar, sugar, allspice, cloves and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add carrot and onions. Cool. Serve with steak.

- Molly Gingell is the owner of Molly's Gourmet Catering, takeout and cooking school at 220 W. John St. in Carson City.