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 Entertainment | Restaurants & Dining | June 2006 
Latino Bistec
 Aleta Watson - Monterey County Herald
| | Whether it's carne asada from Mexico or bistec a la Criolla from Colombia, steak takes on a vibrant personality when it's grilled with a Spanish accent. |
What better way to celebrate summer than by grilling a big juicy steak in the backyard? No matter which way the diet pendulum swings, a slab of red meat remains one of the most popular foods to toss on the grill.
Some of the most appealing ways to serve steak come from Latin America, where lively sauces bring out the best in beef. Whether it's carne asada from Mexico or bistec a la Criolla from Colombia, steak takes on a vibrant personality when it's grilled with a Spanish accent.
The bright, assertive flavors of chiles, herbs, tomatoes and vinegar play well against the deep, smoky taste of meat cooked over live fire.
The good news is it only takes a little more work to prepare a showstopping steak than to grill a plain one. These recipes draw from the traditions of Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia as well as those of Argentina, where beef is a national obsession.
Zarela Martinez, author of 'Zarela's Veracruz' (Houghton Mifflin) and owner of the Manhattan restaurant that bears her name, is an evangelist for regional Mexican food. She loves recado de adobo colorado - an earthy marinade made with achiote paste and sour citrus juice - on grilled steak as much as on the more common roast pork. Achiote paste, made from ground annatto seeds, is available at most Mexican markets, usually with the spices or near the meat cases.
Marinate some thinly sliced skirt steak (sold in Latin markets as arrachera) overnight in the thick red sauce, then grill it quickly for a deeply flavored rendition of carne asada. Add some cooked pinto beans, guacamole, tortillas and Martinez's pico de gallo salsa, and you have a feast.
In Venezuela, steak gets a boost from the traditional guasaca sauce. This zippy variation of guacamole blends vinegar, mustard and horseradish with the usual avocado mixture for an extra kick. It's a bit too much for chips but a great counterpoint to meat.
Milder Creole flavors complement the beef in the bistec a la Criolla from Colombia.
Sirloin is coated with mustard, cumin and vinegar before grilling, then topped with a jammy relish of tomato and onions made sweet by slow cooking.
For classic Latin American steak, you can't beat the Argentine combo of nicely charred beef and vinegary chimichurri, an herb-laden salsa that doubles as a salad. Our recipe, from the Culinary Institute of America, is a dressed-up variation with tomatoes, red bell pepper and jalapeno. It's excellent but unconventional. Purists may want to omit those ingredients for a more restrained sauce that relies primarily on herbs for its flavor.
Viva el bistec Latino!
|Achiote marinade|
Marinate thinly sliced skirt steak in this marinade overnight. Grill it to your taste and serve with pico de gallo. The marinade also works well with chicken and pork.
3 4 cup commercial achiote paste (see note)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup grapefruit or lime juice
1 habanero chile, seeded, deveined and minced, using plastic gloves
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. toasted cumin seeds, freshly ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
1 tsp. dry Mexican oregano, rubbed between the hands
1 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Steps: Combine all ingredients in blender. Process with an on/off motion until thoroughly pureed.
Note: Look for blocks of achiote paste in the spice section or near meat counters in Mexican markets.
Zarela Martinez
|Pico de gallo norteno|
|(Makes about 4 cups)|
2-4 fresh jalapeno or serrano chiles, tops removed but not seeded
1 garlic clove, peeled
4 large ripe, red tomatoes, peeled but not seeded
6-8 scallions with part of the green tops
1 4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
1 tsp. dry Mexican oregano, or to taste, crumbled
Juice of 1 large lime
Salt to taste
Steps: With a large, sharp knife, chop chiles very fine. Mince garlic. Coarsely chop tomatoes. Finely chop scallions and cilantro. Place garlic, tomatoes, scallions and cilantro in large bowl. If the tomatoes are very dry, gradually add up to 1 2 cup cold water to achieve a light salsa consistency. Stir to mix ingredients. Add chiles, a little at a time, tasting, until it is as hot as you like. Add oregano, then squeeze lime juice into the salsa. Gradually add salt to taste. Serve immediately.
- 'Food From My Heart,' by Zarela Martinez (Macmillan)
|Guasaca sauce|
|(Serves 6)|
Porterhouse steaks are a good match with this creamy, avocado-based sauce. Although the instructions call for a mortar and pestle in the first step, a food processor or blender also may be used.
1 red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic
2 serrano chiles, with seeds, chopped
4 ripe Hass avocados, peeled and pitted
1 2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup pure olive oil
1 T. Colman's mustard powder
1 T. American-style yellow mustard
3 T. chopped cilantro
2 T. chopped parsley
1 T. prepared horseradish
2 cups peeled and seeded ripe plum tomatoes
Salt
Steps: Combine onion, garlic and chiles in a mortar and mash into paste with the pestle. In blender combine avocados, vinegar, oil and both mustards and puree. Add mashed garlic mixture and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and fold in cilantro, parsley, horseradish and tomatoes. Add salt to taste.
To serve, spread the sauce on steaks fresh off the grill.
- 'Douglas Rodriguez's Latin Flavors on the Grill,' by Douglas Rodriguez (Ten Speed Press)
|Bistec a la criolla|
|(Serves 4)|
4 8-oz. boneless sirloin steaks, 3 4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 T. vegetable oil
1 med.-sized red onion, diced
2 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
1 bay leaf
Steps: Trim steaks of excess fat and season on both sides with salt and pepper. In a large glass or ceramic baking dish, whisk together mustard, cumin and vinegar. Place steaks in dish, turn to coat both sides, cover, and let marinate in refrigerator 1 hour. Heat grill to very hot.
In medium-sized non-reactive skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, tomatoes and bay leaf. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook until mixture is soft and thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, grill steaks until done to your liking, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Serve immediately, topped with the tomato-onion relish.
- 'Bistro Latino,' by Rafael Palomino (Morrow)
|Chimichurri sauce|
|(Makes about 2 cups)|
1 tsp. salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1 4 cup minced yellow onion
1 4 cup minced parsley leaves
1 4 cup minced oregano leaves
1 2 cup finely diced tomato
2 jalapenos, minced
1 4 cup water
1 4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 4 cup red wine vinegar
Steps: Sprinkle salt over minced garlic and mash to a paste with flat side of chef's knife. Transfer garlic to non-reactive bowl and add red pepper, onion, parsley, oregano, tomato, jalapenos, water, olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Mix well and refrigerate 1 hour to let flavors blend. Serve cold with grilled steak of your choice.
- 'Grilling,' Culinary Institute of America (Lebhar-Friedman Books) |
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