Entree & Side : Fall
Autumn Tacos With side of Lentils
I'm amazed and delighted that the butternut squash I bought in the beginning of December is still good in my pantry. Fall makes me think of warm flavors, and butternut squash and corn, so I thought of this almost immediately. It's also the time of year I start cooking things that take long enough to heat up the house again, hence the braised meat and the side of lentils. I actually made almost this exact dish a few months back and posted a thread asking people to help me come up with a
name. For the purposes of the this theme, I stuck with autumn tacos, but replaced the ground beef I'd used previously with braised beef. I have to confess, I have no idea what cut of beef I used. It was in an unmarked vaccum pack in my freezer. If I were to take a guess based on looks, I'd say maybe round steak, but I can't remember buying round steak,
so I'm not sure. I have no idea why I didn't label it, but I promise, it was beef.
Autumn Tacos:
Beef braised in the crockpot with onions and black peppercorns, and water until tender, liquid reserved
Roasted butternut squash, cut into 1 in cubes
yellow onion, finely chopped
Cumin
coriander
nutmeg
cloves
ginger
cinnamon
salt
fresh cilantro, chopped
Greek yogurt
Sriracha
Lentils:
1/2 c green lentils
cumin
coriander
nutmeg
cloves
liquid from braised beef
water
chopped fresh cilantro
Roasted red pepper Aioli from course 1
I braised the beef overnight in my crock pot, then cut across the grain, about 1/3 in, and more or less crumbled the meat. I heated 2 skillets and added a touch of olive oil to each. I seasoned the beef and squash seperately with the 6 spices and salt, using a light touch so they wouldn't become overpowering. I added the onion to one pan and cooked until nearly translucent, then added the beef and some of the liquid from the crockpot. While the onions cooked, I added the seasoned squash cubes to the other, very hot skillet and turned as each side browned. When the beef was hot and the squash browned, combined both into 1 pan and added the cilantro (setting some of the meat aside for DH since he doesn't like squash, as mentioned before), cooking until just wilted. I removed from heat, covered, and set aside.
In a small skillet I heated a thin layer of vegetable oil. Individually, I fried corn tortiallas until soft, turning once, and then fried the last one until just starting to crisp.I served the filling in the hot tortillas with greek yogurt and sriracha.
While all of this was going on, my 1 extra burner was occupied with a pot of green lentils in about 3/4 cup of the braising liquid, 1/2 cup water, and spices. I added a bit more water once, because there was very little liquid left and the lentils were still too firm inside. Here's where my happiest accident of the meal came. Because I was focused on the meat and quash cooking, I accidentally let the lentils scorch to the bottom of the pan. I quickly scooped the unburnt lentils off the top into a bowl (thankfully they were cooked through) and tasted them to see if they could be salvaged. Instead of having the bitter burnt flavor of the ones now stuck to the pan, they took on a lovely smokey flavor that I would never have though to try for. Happy accident indeed! I just tossed in the chopped cilantro and it was done.
I plated 2 tacos, 1 with a completely soft shell and one still chewy but crisp on the outside, for comparison's sake, with a side of the lentils, and garnished with more Sriracha, some roasted red pepper aioli, and a sprig of cilantro.
I loved the whole thing. I preferred the crispy tortilla. I love contrast, and the crispiness contrasted beautifully with the soft quash. The sweet corn tortillas, buttery squash and sweet spices were wonderful. The cilantro freshened the flavor, the beef and savory spices deepened it, and the heat of the Sriracha added an excellent accent. The smokey flavor and spices in the lentils worked very well as a side, especially when I mixed in a bit of the aioli. The lentils were a bit dry, so the aioli was necessary for them. A dab of aioli was nice with the tacos, but not necessary. Dh liked his version without the squash, but said his meat was a little dry (his didn't get covered, since I discovered the scorched lentils at about that point) and added sharp cheddar. "They're tacos. They have to have cheese." He tried the lentils and then said, "Hmmm. I don't like lentils." DD, true to form, gobbled down everything.
If I could change something, I would have cooked all of the tortillas until crispy, I was just curious to see which would be better
here. Also, I think it would be safer to add smoked paprika to the lentils next time, instead of risking the scorching and wasting
the bottom layer!
I assembled one taco for a photo open, to display the filling, then I took a picture of the finished plate.