latin lunch

if i haven't premeditated the meal, i spend most sunday afternoons scanning my pantry and trying to match whatever i find to the choice of thawed protein from my freezer. this particular sunday, i was quite indecisive and wanted little bits of different flavors... at least i decided the kind of flavors. :)
the menu: carne asada, garlic shrimp, black beans and homemade tortilla chips!
there isn't much of a recipe for any of these menu items... but here it goes.

carne asada
ingredients:
skirt steak
kosher salt
black pepper
asada spice mix (thank you archer farms)

steps:
season the steak. if you have time, let it sit for a bit so the spices can sink in. once you're ready, get a grill pan heated to high, brush a little olive oil onto the pan, and add the steak. skirt steak cooks quite fast, so i'd say about 3-4mins each side. once it's nicely grilled, set it aside for about 5mins before slicing.

garlic shrimp
ingredients:
1 bag of shrimp
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
pepper

steps:
heat the olive oil on medium high. add the minced garlic and shrimp and toss to coat. season with kosher salt and pepper to taste. if you like, you could also add a little bit of chili flakes or my overly used spice: paprika. :)

black beans
ingredients:
1 can of black beans, preferably organic
kosher salt & pepper to taste

steps:
heat it up in a little pot. it's that easy.

tortilla chips - my favorite part
ingredients:
corn tortillas
kosher salt
1/2 - 1 cup veg oil

steps:
depending on the size of the pan you'll use, add enough oil to the pan so that it will be deep enough for the tortillas to float in. once you've added that much, heat it to medium high.
in the meantime, take a stack of 5 or so corn tortillas at once, and cut into quarters. once the oil is hot enough, start frying the tortilla chips.
have a plate with a sheet of paper towel ready, so that the chips can go straight onto that to drain off a bit. for each batch of chips that come out, sprinkle some kosher salt onto the hot chips, and once cool enough to handle, toss the salted chips into your serving dish.

put these 4 items altogether, and you have a delicious and satisfying, multi-flavored latin inspired lunch, or dinner. buen provecho!

cPe 2008