Tuesday, April 22, 2014

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO: WALKING TOURS AND ARRACHERA TACOS

HEALTHY ACTIVITY IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE: SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOURS 
     Wandering the narrow cobblestone streets in the town of San Miguel de Allende, and admiring the cathedrals, colonial buildings, parks and plazas were our favorite activities. We carried the Garmin GPS with the Mexico software everywhere to find our way. We programmed each point of interest into the GPS and let it direct our path. 
     The most famous sight, La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, in the center of town was our first stop. This beautiful church, with its French Gothic architecture and green, pink, and off-white stonework towers over the town. We returned to La Parroquia often, mesmerized by its amazing color and detail.
    Late afternoon on our first walking tour, we stopped for a Margarita and pizza on the upper terrace of the restaurant, Mama Mia and got a nice photo of the elegant cupola of the Templo de la Inmaculada Concepcion (Immaculate Conception Church). This was a beautiful place to watch the sunset on an April evening.
   A great walk was from the Jardin Principal  (Main Plaza and garden) across from La Parroquia to the Parque Benito Juarez (Benito Juarez Park). As we admired the beautiful colonial homes and hotels, the many churches, the gardens

and the park, we wondered why it had taken us over 20 years of traveling in Mexico to finally discover San Miguel de Allende!

HEALTHY EATING IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE: ARRACHERA TACOS
    We discovered Gombos restaurant on one of our walking tours and thought it looked so cute inside that we had to give it a try. We decided on the Arrachera, the special of the day and were so glad that we did. It was the best Arrachera we had tasted in Mexico. The restaurant's sign outside said it specialized in Pizza and Crepes, but we'll have to go back next time to sample those! I'm trying to recreate Gombos Arrachera --any ideas are appreciated.                                                                          
                   ARRACHERA TACOS (Marinated Grilled Flank Steak)

Prep Time: 20 minutes Marinating Time: 6 hours Cooking Time: 30 minutes Yields 4 servings
        
     Marinade Ingredients:

1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
8 to 10 cloves garlic, minced
4 Jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon salt
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 2 medium limes
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon pepper
10 ounces Mexican beer (2 ounces from a 12 ounce bottle left over--oh well, just have to sip it while mixing the marinade!)


     Taco Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound beef flank steak
1 cup Guacamole
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup salsa
2 limes, sliced into wedges
12 warm corn tortillas
    
     Directions:
1. In a large bowl, add all marinade ingredients. Mix well. Taste for salt and add more as needed, up to 1 tablespoon total.

2. Place the steak in a large plastic ziplock bag. Pour the marinade over the beef, seal bag and marinate for at least 6 hours.

3. Remove the steak from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Drain off all the marinade and transfer steak to a plate.

4. Preheat grill on high heat while the steak comes to room temperature. Cook the steak on the medium-high heat (MOM on Weber Grill) for 8 to 10 minutes per side. Remove beef to servingplatter and let it stand for 10 minutes. Slice diagonally across the grain into thin slices. To test for steak doneness with a meat thermometer: rare 130 to 135 degrees F., medium rare 140 degrees, medium 155 degrees, well done 165 degrees.

5. Serve with tortillas, Guacamole, Cilantro, Salsa, and lime wedges

6. Enjoy! I wonder if these tacos taste better while sitting in beautiful San Miguel de Allende...


Terry L Turrell, Author
More About San Miguel de Allende in My Book in December 2014


COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Terry L Turrell
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication May be Reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or Transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, scanning, photocopying, recording, or Otherwise, without prior written permission .

No comments:

Post a Comment