2009/03/22

Roasted Jalepeno & Garlic Marinated Flank Steak Tacos with Ancho Ricotta, Freeze Dried Corn Salsa Finished with Alderwood Smoked Salt

Every chef is guilty of creating a circus on a plate once in a while, here's my latest. Start by roasting some jalepenos and garlic (broiling, turning frequently).

From gastronomic guesswork

Destem the jalepenos, chop everything up, and coat a flank steak with the concoction to marinate for 90 minutes at room temperature.

From gastronomic guesswork

Grab some fresh ricotta (might be hard to find), combine with a dose of ancho chile powder and gujillo chile powder in a 3 to 1 ratio. You're going for a sweet heat here wherein the ricotta and ancho are about equally forthcoming in flavor. Reach into your bag of tricks and fetch some freeze dried corn and some alderwood smoked sea salt.

From gastronomic guesswork

Dice some red pepper, toss with cilantro, and at the last minute add the freeze dried corn. The corn will be very sweet and you want to avoid adding this too early to retain the dry crunchy texture this adds.

From gastronomic guesswork

Grill the flank steak to medium, finish with the alderwood smoked salt, then cut into strips. Combine everything in steamed white corn tortillas and devour.

From gastronomic guesswork


A lot going on here, but I think it works, hitting multiple textural and flavor notes - that smoked salt is killer with the jalepenos and beef.