Last-minute meal ideas: beef tacos

Let me paint a scenario for ya: you bump into a friend you have not seen in months on your way home, you start chatting and catching up on each other's lives, you start wondering, Geez, why haven't I made time to catch up with this person sooner? You invite the person to dinner at your house out of impulse, then realise that you have not done any shopping or meal planning. Oops, too late to pull out now. Time to make a quickie detour to the shops. Ideas are running through your brain as you try to figure out the best recipe to impress but no-fuss so to allow time for all that talking you are about to do. Well, I am one who often finds myself in that situation, as I love food and people both so much and what better way to catch up with my peeps than over a home-cooked meal? 

One of my go-to recipes in situations like this is tacos. Okay, I would not exactly call it a 'recipe', as the ingredients are sooo easy to prepare and the assembling is done at the table in DIY fashion. My version of tacos is essentially made up of Mexican tortilla (shop-bought small tortillas, corn or flour)+grilled meat (I like grass-fed beef steak)+salsa and salad+sauce (I am a hoarder of chili sauces). Cooking method is a no-brainer also: season your steak with your favourite seasoning (be creative!) and grill to medium/medium rare (that's how I like it. You should cook to your desired consistency. Don't let any steak snob tell you that you can't). Rest the meat before slicing. While meat is resting, make a salsa. I used corn, diced avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, diced Spanish onion, diced cucumber and chopped coriander (or cilantro) with a sprinkle of lime juice and S&P. Before dishing up, I heat the tortillas on the grill for a few seconds till they are warm, and wash up some lettuce. Voila! My favourite sauce to go with beef tacos is definitely the smokey chipotle sauce. I am sure you don't need me to tell you how to make a taco: fill->wrap->enjoy!

What is so wonderful about a taco meal is that I often have leftover steak and salsa, and they make a perfect healthy salad the next day for lunch. Just add leftover sliced steak (re-heated lightly on a grill, if you like) and salsa, and drizzle some olive oil and smokey chipotle sauce, there you have it! The colour of the dish is absolutely irresistible, and the taste is refreshing, tangy, smokey and each mouth full is a perfect combination of tender steak and crunchy vegetables and herbs. Oh Myyyy...

So for your next last-minute meal, give this beef taco 'recipe' a go. Remember: good food is about finding good flavour and texture combinations, not about how long you slave over the stove for.