Carne en su Jugo

Diced steak cooked in a spicy green tomatillo sauce.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds flank steak or skirt steak, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cups water
• 4 fresh tomatillos, husks removed
• 3 Serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 1 cube chicken bouillon or 1 tablespoon Caldo de Pollo
• 6 slices bacon
• 2 (15.5 ounce) cans pinto beans

Garnishes

• 6 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Radishes, sliced
• Avocado, sliced
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 6 lime wedges

Instructions

1. Toss cubed beef with soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce; set aside to marinate.
2. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven until evenly browned, about 10 minutes.
3. Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside. Leave a few tablespoons of the bacon grease in the Dutch oven to cook the beef.
4. Combine water, tomatillos, serrano peppers, garlic and onions in a small saucepan over medium high heat; bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
6. Transfer contents to a blender; blend until smooth and set aside. (You can skip the simmering step and blend raw tomatillos, peppers and garlic with water and a few pieces of browned steak if you like.)
7. Add steak to the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Crowd the pan to encourage the beef to release its juices.
8. When it has all changed color, pour tomatillo mixture over beef and bring to a boil.
9. Stir in chicken bouillon or caldo de pollo and reduce heat to medium.
10. Cover the Dutch oven and simmer until tender, 30 minutes to one hour, or until beef is tender.
11. Stir bacon and pinto beans into soup and let heat for about five minutes.
12. Divide the soup among six bowls.
13. Garnish with cilantro, radishes, avocado, black pepper and lime wedges.

Attribution

Photo credit: mmm-yoso / CC BY