This year’s World Cup is being co-hosted by Mexico, and England must do what almost no team does: go to the iconic Azteca Stadium and beat the home team. With kick-off at 1am on Monday morning, special licensing has been granted to give you the chance to watch it at the pub. But what could be better than inviting a crowd of friends over and cooking a Mexican-inspired feast of tacos with loads of side dishes and, of course, lots and lots of frozen blackberry Margaritas?
Tacos are perfect party fare: delicious, colourful, easy to make and fun to eat. In this recipe we’ve gone all out using seared fillet of beef because it’s a birthday treat, but cheaper lean cuts such as sirloin work, too. We’ll be serving the tacos with grilled corn on the cob, guacamole, chipotle mayo and mango salsa. Store-bought guacamole just doesn’t compare to freshly made so we’ll be making our own, as well as the mango salsa that takes seconds to whizz up. You’ll also want to have bowls of Little Gem lettuce leaves, jalapeños, sour cream, tortilla chips and hot sauce.
Most of the ingredients can be found at a local grocer, but if you’re struggling with tomatillos (a small green Mexican tomato), use eight green or yellow tomatoes instead. You can also replace the ancho chilli with five slices of jalapeño from a jar.
Tarty party tacos
Ingredients ( makes 8)
- 1 avocado
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper
- Half a red cabbage, shredded
- 1 Little Gem lettuce, shredded
- A few radishes, finely sliced
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- 500g fillet of beef
- Olive oil
- Pack of 8 tortillas (corn or wheat)
- Coriander or micro coriander for decoration
- Tomato salsa (either bought or, if making, tomatoes, red onion, coriander, salt and pepper)
- Mexican cheese, crumbled (or a hard goat’s cheese, finely crumbled)
For the mango salsa
- 1 mango, diced
- Juice of 1 lime
- Small bunch coriander, finely chopped
- Small bunch mint, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
For the green sauce
- 1 tin tomatillos (approx 8)
- 1 large ancho chilli
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 spring onions (roots and green leaves removed)
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- Small bunch coriander
Method
- First prepare the mango salsa by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Next make the green sauce by whizzing all the ingredients together in a food processor with some seasoning. Set both to one side. To make the tacos , mash the avocado with the lime juice and seasoning in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the cabbage, lettuce, radishes and chilli. Heat a griddle pan on a high heat until smoking. Season the beef with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then place on the griddle pan, cook for about 2½ minutes then flip over and cook for a further 2 ½ minutes.
- Prod with your finger: if soft, it’s rare; if bouncy, it’s medium rare. When it’s cooked to your preference, take off the heat and leave to rest for 3 minutes before finely slicing.
- While the beef is resting, heat up the tortillas: we either whack ours in a hot pan or straight on top of the Aga. Once they are slightly toasted, take off and place on plates or a wooden board. Spread the avocado mixture on the tortillas, add the salad and a little tomato salsa, then arrange the slices of beef on top. Finish by sprinkling over the mango salsa, green sauce, crumbled cheese and coriander.
