Carne Asada

One of my all time favourite Mexican party foods is Carne Asada (bavette steak); with pico de gallo (zesty side salad) and arroz rojo (Mexican tomato rice) is my favourite way to serve it. It’s a really simple meal but it will have your taste buds tingly and be a delightful treat – a great way to spice up the standard British BBQ. Plus, it’s often the cheapest cut of steak!

You don’t have to wait till a gorgeous sunny day to have carne asada. I know those don’t come too often in London(!) so I have created a recipe to cook carne asada in the oven with the same great taste. So have fun and if it’s a hot sunny day then you can throw it on the grill outside! You can find bavette steak in most stores – you’ll need to butterfly the meat for this dish, so you might want a butcher to do that for you if you don’t feel comfortable doing that yourself.

Carne Asada 
Serves: 2
Prep 5 min
Cook 15 min

Bavette Steak (pack of 2)
Smokey Steak Rub
1 orange

Step 1: Preheat the oven grill to 180 C. Lay the steak on your chopping board. Carefully and slowly start to cut the steak in half horizontally following the natural lines of the meat. Make sure you are cutting through the middle-you want to open the steak without cutting it in two.
Step 2: Place your butterflied steak in a bowl and squeeze the juice of an orange on top. Season with steak rub and pinch of salt to each steak.
Step 3: Lay your steak under the grill on a grill pan for 15 min (turning it over once after 7 minutes).

Arroz Rojo (tomato rice)
Serves: 4

285g rice
5 tomatoes
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
750 ml boiling water

Step 1: Blend tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chicken bouillon in blender until smooth
Step 2: In a large non stick pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil  for 1 min. on medium heat. Lower heat to low and add rice. Fry rice for 4-5 min on low heat.
Step 3: Add blended mixture and keep stirring until for 3-4 min. Add 750 ml boiling water and cover rice for 10 min on low heat. Tip: If rice is not completely soft add about 500 ml water, move rice to avoid burning, cover and let cook for 3 min more

Pico de Gallo
Serves: 4

6 tomatoes diced
1 onion diced
1 medium bunch coriander finely chopped
Salt to taste
4 lime

Step 1: In a large bowl mix tomatoes, onion, and coriander.
Step 2: Add lime juice and salt to taste. Mix well and serve