Mexican food is a favorite of mine. I have been on a total taco kick lately, and authentic carne asada “street” tacos have been my jam (no, NOT taco bell and NOT your favorite americanized mexican restaurant). Give me the real stuff! Steak, onions, cilantro and lime, and I am in heaven!

This recipe is inspired by tacos tradicionales, and given a little extra kick with garlic avocado “crema.” Crema is similar to sour cream, and can be made with it, but generally is a bit more salty and sour. This “crema” has an avocado and Greek yogurt base (so it is a bit thicker than traditional crema), with a ton of cilantro and garlic for the win.

This is a healthy dish and one that will certainly satisfy your craving for authentic tacos.

Please don’t break my heart and tell me you don’t want to eat the tortillas! I have heard a buzz going around lately that you should avoid eating tortillas because they aren’t healthy. Certainly some tortillas, especially tortillas loaded with preservatives (hello, GMOs!), have unnecessary ingredients and chemicals should be avoided. But traditional corn (or even flour) tortillas, can definitely be incorporated in your everyday diet. Just don’t eat ALL the tortillas and none of the other good stuff – everything in moderation!

It makes me so sad to hear of people giving the advice that an individual shouldn’t eat something in their traditional diet simply because they are made with grains and “empty” nutrients. Grains are not evil, people! They can certainly be incorporated into a healthy diet, like so many other traditional breads and grains. After all, they have been for centuries (for more material on why carbs aren’t evil, check out Michael Pollan’s series on Netflix called Cooked – I highly recommend it)!

Alright, now onto the good stuff:

Garlic Avocado Crema

1 Avocado, diced

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped (not packed)

5 gloves of garlic, peeled

Juice of 1 Lime

Add all of the above ingredients into your food processor. Blend until smooth. Note: feel free to make this ahead of time, just make sure to refrigerate it until you are ready to use.

Tacos de Carne Asada (Steak)

Corn Tortillas, warmed

1/2 small Onion, diced

Cilantro, chopped

Queso fresco (“fresh cheese”)

Salsa Verde (optional)

Limes, cut into quarters (optional)

…

Steak (skirt or flank steak preferred)

Salt & Pepper

1 tbsp Olive oil (if cooking on the stove)

Prepare the toppings for the tacos first. Dice your onion, chop your cilantro, cut your lime and set them to the side. If you bought your cheese in a block, crumble it up and put into a small bowl.

Authentic steak tacos are typically made with grilled steak. Unfortunately, it started to rain right as I started making this recipe, so that was out of the question. Either way, season the steak with a pinch of pepper and salt, then grill it or pan fry it until it is done to your liking. After cooking, let it rest for a couple of minutes, and then thinly slice the steak.

Finally, right before serving, warm your tortillas either on the grill or stove top. Layer the Garlic Avocado Crema onto the tortilla, then add the steak and top with the onions and cilantro. If you would like, you can squeeze a bit of lime on top, add some salsa verde and a little queso fresco. Either way, you really can’t go wrong!

Serve with warmed refried beans and queso fresco.

Side note: You can use cotija cheese instead of queso fresco in a pinch, which is actually what I used here, but know that cotija cheese is much saltier than queso fresco (queso fresco is a milder, softer cheese, almost a mix of mozzarella and feta cheeses).

Go ahead – try these tacos out and don’t forget to tell me what you think! I can’t wait to hear about it!

xoxo,

Zoe Lauryn

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