–Molly Engquist, WDW Radio Team
Are you like me and can’t make it to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival this year, but still watch and listen to all the content on social media? After a few days of the social media onslaught, I decided to pick one of the menu items and recreate it myself.
One item from the Flavors from Fire Booth sounded good, and I thought, I could figure out a way to make the “Chimichurri Marinated Skirt Steak Taco with crushed avocado, grilled corn salsa, pickled red onions, queso fresco, and cilantro-lime cream.” First off, I liked the long title because it told me everything that was on it. So then all I needed to do is figure out a recipe to make each one. Here is what I did!
CHIMICHURRI MARINADE
2 tbl. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 red jalapenos
½ cup parsley
½ cup cilantro
1 tsp. Oregano
½ cup olive oil
Chop all the vegetables and mix them in a bowl. I made this the night before so it could sit overnight in the fridge with the steak. Here is a difference. I ended up getting a flank steak instead of a skirt steak. While they are similar, the flank steak is a little thicker so it needs more time to marinate, at least 24 hours. If you get a skirt, start to marinate in the morning and it should be good once you start to grill.
CILANTRO LIME CREAM
I cup sour cream
2 tbls. Mayo
½ cup cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1 lime, zest and juice
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno
Put all the ingredients into a food processor with the multi-purpose blade at the bottom. Puree it all together until it has a smooth texture. I also made this one the day before and put it in the fridge so all the flavors merge and become one. If you don’t use it all it can be saved in the fridge and used for 2 weeks.
PICKLED RED ONION
I red onion
Juice from 3 limes
½ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. Oregano
1 jalapeno, halved
1 bay leaf
Bring the water, vinegar, salt, bay leaf, and oregano to a boil. While waiting, cut the onion in half then slice thin. When the liquid mixture is boiling, take it off the heat and add the onions and lime juice. Let it cool for a bit. Once cooled, put the mixture along with the 2 halves of the jalapeno in a jar or other container. Again, I made this the day before because the longer that all hangs out together in the fridge the better the flavors all come together. I make this one often in the summer. The onions taste good on burgers, brats…..
Ok, now that we have everything in the fridge and getting acquainted, we can relax until tomorrow when we put it all together.
GRILLED CORN ON THE COB
1 corn on the cob
1 tbsp cilantro
Salt & pepper to taste
A little olive oil
I start the main food prep with the grill and grill up the corn. To get an even cook keep the grill at a medium high heat and cook the corn for about 15 minutes turning every 5 minutes. Take the corn off and let it cool before you cut the kernels off. Mix in the cilantro and add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Keeping the grill at medium high, grill the steak for about 6-8 minutes per side. Temperature should be between 135-140 degrees F. Then let it rest, covered with tin foil for about 10 minutes. When cutting the steak, slice across the grain at a 45 degree angle and no more than a 1/4” thick.
CRUSHED AVOCADO
2 avocados
Juice from 1 lime
1 tsp of salt
While the meat was resting I crushed up 2 avocados with lime and salt until smooth. I also cut up the queso fresco into crumbles.
To plate we started with the corn tortilla and spread on a little crushed avocado. Then we topped that with the steak, corn, pickled onions, queso fresco and finished it by drizzling the cilantro cream on top.
I paired the meal with a nice local ale that has a little jalapeno kick to it. At first I thought it was going to be too much happening on one plate but, I enjoyed all the flavors melding into one. We did have leftovers for a few nights. So the first night I tried it with a flour tortilla and I liked it better. I think that is a personal preference. Then my favorite night was when we put the steak, onions and cheese with chips in the oven. We added some shredded Mexican cheese and black olives too. Then we dipped them in the cilantro lime cream!
Overall, it was fun to feel included with the Food and Wine Festival in some way. And I got to try something that I never would have thought to make.
Have you tried to make your favorite from the Fest? Be sure to go to the Clubhouse on Facebook and share your favorites and any recipe successes… or fails!
