#5: Non El Paso Beef Tacos
Ugly delicious eat your heart out.
Another clean, delicious and uncomplicated recipe for beef tacos that will have you bypassing the Old El Paso kits for good, this is a must try.
When my husband and I first started dating he would often cook up tacos for us during our work week. I normally enjoyed orchestrating our kitchen most days and still do, but loved his contribution, cooking together, sharing ideas allowed our relationship with food to continually evolve into what it is today.
After nearly 8 years together its one dish like many others, that still makes me feel very nostalgic of life before our sons. We started with the Old El Paso kits in our small apartment in Darlinghurst, but quickly searched for other alternatives after we read what was in the sachets - lots and lots of nasties. We loved watching the early Rick Stein cooking series before bed to unwind, which often sparked inspiration for us to tailor our cooking and lean into more traditional ingredients.
From this more curious place grew, the Non El Paso Beef Taco recipe. It is a simple and nourishing family favourite that always leaves us feeling overall better for having eaten, which has now became a way of life and is to the core why I started this publication.
The messaging today is heavily convenient and expeditious across the world, but its extremely important for us to step back and mindfully select our food with purpose while removing any unnecessary complexity in the cooking process.
It truly is a mindset and one I hope that will transcend across this community through the recipes I share.
Slow living. Slower eating.
Non El Paso Taco Mince
Ingredients
1 carrot grated
1 garlic fined grated
1 onion finely diced
500g beef mince
250g pork mince
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Maldon salt and cracked pepper
2 cups water or chicken broth
Pinch cayenne pepper
To make the taco mince:
Start by grating the carrot and garlic. Finely dice the onions.
Heat a large pan, once hot pour in a good lug of olive oil. On low sauté your vegetables until translucent and soft, which will take approximately 10-12 minutes.
Turn your stove back on high and place the beef and pork mince in the pan along with all your spices and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes until brown.
Once the mince is browned and the spices release a scent turn the stove down to medium and pour in 2 cups of water or chicken broth.
Let the taco mince cook until nearly all the liquid is evaporated. It is important to leave some liquid behind or the mixture will be too dry.
Serve in a bowl with rice, avocado, tomato, lettuce, coriander and sour cream.
Alternatively (and my personal favourite) are the tacos using Melbourne’s own NO NASTIES La Tortilleria tortilla wraps.
Things to note
The recipe is not spicy in the slightest but if you prefer zero heat, do not add the cayenne pepper
Freezer friendly for up to 6 months
Happiest of cooking x
