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Mary Beth Ray

Ode to Samin Tacos

I’m a huge fan of Samin Nosrat, the author of Salt Fat Acid Heat. I am inspired by her fearless and creative ways of deconstructing and reconstructing recipes.
Case in point is in the article she wrote for the NY Times Magazine A Burger, But Better where she makes the connection between memorable kebabs – flavored ground meat from Iran to Pakistan - and burgers.
Her recipe for Chapli Burgers sounded delicious but I wasn’t interested in burgers that night; I didn’t have buns or all the toppings she included, so I found myself simply riffing off the flavor profile she had with ingredients that I had on hand and instead of burgers from kababs, I made delicious “tacos” from her burgers.
If, as she writes, “A burger is a black dress; a kebab is a Met Gala gown,” I’d say that on a weeknight a new take on simple, delicious, homemade tacos just might be a new favorite pair of jeans.
Enjoy!
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Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 tbsp ghee
  • ½ small yellow onion minced
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 2 cups white mushrooms sliced
  • 1 pound ground beef or bison
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
  • 2 cups spinach coarsely chopped
  • corn tortillas

Method
 

  1. Melt 1 ½ Tbsp. ghee in saucepan set over medium heat.
  2. Add onion sauté until softened.
  3. Add garlic and mushrooms (and rest of ghee), sauté for several minutes until mushrooms brown.
  4. Add in ground meat, tomato paste, and all the spices.
  5. Once meat has browned add in spinach, cook until wilted.
  6. Serve on warm corn tortillas.