HAPPENING NOW:
Street Food Diaries and recipes
[projekktor id=’16103′]
Matt Basile is the creator of Toronto-based street food company Fidel Gastro’s. Matt has been on the street with his food truck Lisa Marie and he has taken the combination of food and street smarts and written a new book called Street Food Diaries and he is here today to make one of his special recipes.
Philly Cheesesteak Tostadas
3 jalapeño peppers
1 cup (250 mL) rice wine vinegar
2 eggs
4 cloves garlic
4 cups (1 L) canola oil
Juice from 1 lemon
Kosher salt
6 tostada shells or crispy tortillas
1 red onion
1 lb (500 g) beef striploin, thinly sliced
Black pepper
6 thin slices American cheese
1/4 cup (60 mL) cilantro
1 lime
THE TOPPINGS
Very thinly slice one of the jalapeño peppers. Place the sliced jalapeño with its seeds in a small bowl and add enough rice wine vinegar to cover them completely. Let the jalapeño slices soak for 10 to 15 minutes to lightly pickle them.
For the jalapeño aioli, chop the remaining two jalapeño peppers into large chunks. Blitz the eggs in a food processor or blender, and then add the jalapeño chunks with their seeds and the garlic. Blitz to blend well, then slowly blend in the oil while the machine is running. Once the aioli has thickened, squeeze in a little lemon juice and add a bit of salt to taste. Give it one last quick blitz to mix it all together.
BUILDING THE TOSTADA FROM THE BOTTOM UP
First you’ll need a tostada shell. If you can’t find any tostada shells, you can always deep-fry a soft-shell corn tortilla. Put about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of canola oil in a pot and bring it to 325°F (160°C). Place the tortilla in the hot oil, and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until crispy, for the perfect tostada vessel. If you fry the tortilla in oil that’s too hot, it will fry too quickly, burn, and break apart.
Slice the red onion into thin rings. Place the slices in a hot grill pan or skillet over high heat for 5 or 6 minutes, or until the onions have softened in texture and darkened in color. Remove from the pan and set aside at room temperature. Lightly salt and pepper the strips of beef striploin. Mix the onions with the raw beef, and stack them into a small clump.
Place the beef and onion mixture in the hot pan. Leave the meat stacked while on the heat. Cook for approximately 5 minutes and then flip the beef. I suggest leaving it bunched up so that you can still have some parts undercooked while others parts are more cooked. Separate the meat into six piles while it’s cooking. Place a slice of American cheese on top of each pile as it cooks, and cover with another pan or lid for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. (You can do this in two batches of three if it’s easier.)
Remove your cheesy beef and place it on the tostada, giving it some height. Dress the top of the meat with a little bit of the jalapeño aioli, pickled jalapeño slices, and some washed and picked cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge. Repeat with remaining tostadas.
