What is it with me suddenly trying to recreate fast food products at home? A few weeks ago we were out for a drive and the kids were starving. We were looking for something they could eat without turning the whole backseat into a compost pile and we finally settled on a couple taquitos from Taco Bell. These were a BIG hit and so I thought I'd see if I could recreate them.
The taquitos I made featured ground beef sauteed with heaps of chopped scallions and melted meunster cheese and they were excellent. The kids loved them, but to be honest, I think I loved them even more. The crisp, buttery outside is a great match with the creamy, savory filling, and if you only have a couple, and you pair them with a robust, high-fiber salad, you're probably not taking too many years off your life.
The trickiest part was getting the rolled tortilla to crisp up. I believe at Taco Bell they must use some kind of press, so I simulated this by packing the taquitos into one hot pan, then heating the bottom of a second pan and putting it on top. I then placed a heavy pot atop the second pan and slid the whole cockamamie assemblage into a 350 degree oven. It's a little labor intensive, but I'm definitely going to try more taquito combinations in the future.
In case you're wondering, the salad consists of butter lettuce, shaved cabbage, chopped parsley, garbanzo beans, radishes and chopped radish leaves dressed in a pomegranate vinegarette with a spoonfull of blue cheese dressing mixed in.
Taquitos:
garlic, sliced
scallions, chopped
ground beef, ground
cheese
tortillas
Olive oil
butter
s
p
Heat oven to 350 and place a stack of tortillas inside to warm. Chop up a lot of scallions and brown them slighty in olive oil over medium high heat. When they begin to take on color add the garlic and sautee for about 30 seconds. Add ground beef to the vegetables and brown fully. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice or shred your cheese of choice. Working quickly to preserve tortilla pliabillity, heap a modest spoonful of filling onto each tortilla, top with cheese and roll. Place the rolled taquitos in a large buttered skillet. (The taquitos should be touching shoulder to shoulder. This way, the tops and bottoms will get crusty, but the sides will remain soft and add textural contrast.) Place the skillet over low heat and also heat up a second skillet and place it on top. Weigh down the top skillet with something and place the whole contraption in the oven for about 10 minutes. (You could butter the bottom of the second skillet, but for my money, it's easier and less fattening just to flip the taquitos over and serve them with the buttery side up.) Top with salsa, sour cream or guac and enjoy!
(Oh, and if you make this salad, you will be heartily rewarded the next day, um... right after you have your coffee, if you get my drift.)
To make this really good, you need some Juliet Mae, seriously great Taco spice blend. Its an online that hand makes small batches of really great spice Check them out.
Posted by: wm1 | May 30, 2009 at 08:02 AM