Would you drive over an hour to Philly after midnight just to get a greasy cheese steak? I did that once with a few folks after watching a special Philly cheese steak episode on TV. We just all looked at each other and said “let’s go”! I rarely have cheese steaks now since I’ve cut down significantly on red meat but every once in a while I’ll get a craving.
I decided to make mini cheese steak tacos made with homemade corn tortillas and sauteed onions and peppers for a lighter version. An unlikely pairing but I didn’t want all that bread from the hoagie either so opted for something a little different. I made a few 4 inch size tortillas and loaded them with steak, onions, peppers and melted cheese. By the time I finished there was no way I could fold them like a taco so had them open faced instead! Is there such a thing as an open face taco? I think not so what we have here is a tostada, yeah, that’s it. Either way, it was hearty and satisfyingly good!
Once you prep your peppers (I used cubanelle for a little spice and because they started to ripen), onions, and garlic, just saute them in a little oil. The onions should caramelize and the peppers should be very tender.
I cooked the beef round strips below then later cut into smaller pieces. These here were a bit too large for the small tortillas I made.
Assemble everything on the tortillas, melt the cheese and add your favorite hot sauce for extra heat if you like.
Spicy Mini Cheese Steak Tostadas
1 lb beef round, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large cubanelle pepper, julienned
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 tsp Adobo, see recipe below
1 tsp sea salt
10 mini (4″) corn tortillas, see recipe below
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tbsp parsley
1-2 tbsp butter
hot sauce
Corn Tortillas
1 1/2 cup Masa corn flour (found in Latin grocer or any large supermarket)
3/4 cup of hot water
1. Heat up about 2 tbsp of oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Season the beef with the Adobo and add to the hot oil. Saute beef until cooked through and nicely browned. After beef browned add about 1/2 cup of water, stir and let it reduce. The beef should be a bit moist and saucy.
2. While the beef is cooking prep onions, pepper and garlic. In a separate saute pan heat up about 1-2 tbsp of oil on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the peppers and cook until soft, add the garlic and season with a tsp of salt. Once cooked , add to a bowl and set aside.
3. In a bowl, add corn flour then slowly add the hot water and stir until dough forms. If it’s too sticky, add more flour. Knead dough on floured board and divide dough into about 10 golf sized balls. Flatten each in a tortilla press for perfect round tortillas or with a rolling pin between sheets of parchment paper. Cook tortillas in a hot pan with a tbsp of butter for about 1 minute on each side. The thinner the tortilla the less time it needs to cook. Tortillas should be a bit brown on each side.
4. Set oven to broil. Place tortillas on an oven proof dish, top with the steak, then top with the onions and peppers. Top with the mozzarella cheese and place in the broiler only until cheese melts. Top with you favorite hot sauce.
Spicy Adobo Seasoning
Adobo seasoning can be purchased in the Latin aisle of a supermarket but I like making my own. It isn’t a spicy seasoning but I add a little cayenne pepper to mine. You can leave this out if you like. Check out my recipe below.
1 tbsp Himalayan Sea salt
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp hot paprika
2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black ground pepper
1 tsp dried garlic
