Description
An Italian Mexican fusion recipe with braised chuck roast slow-cooked in a delicious tomato sauce, served on a corn tortilla with crispy mozzarella, and topped with tomato, onion, parsley, and parmesan.
Equipment
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2–3lbs chuck roast
- Salt & pepper
- 1 tbsp oil or butter
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 white onion, diced, divided
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 5–6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red cooking wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 14oz can crushed tomato (see notes)
- 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 roma tomatoes
- 3–4 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 8–16oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 16–20 street taco sized white corn tortillas
- Parmigiano reggiano, shaved
Instructions
- Season the beef. You’ll use a large pot, preferably a dutch oven, for this recipe. I recommend cutting the chuck roast into 2-4 pieces to make it fit better in your pot. Pat the chuck roast dry with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. Let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to temper before cooking.
- Sear the beef. Heat the pot over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, sear the beef on all sides for about 1-2 minutes per side until a nice brown crust forms. Make sure you are not cooking the beef all the way through. Then remove from the pot and set aside.
- Cook the vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium, then add 1 tbsp oil or butter if needed. Cook the celery, carrot, and half of the diced onion for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender and the onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add in the tomato paste and stir, cooking for 1-2 minutes to let the tomato paste caramelize and darken in color slightly. Then, deglaze the pot with red cooking wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the liquids. Pour the beef broth and crushed tomatoes into the pot. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and a bay leaf.
- Slow cook the beef. Add the beef back into the pot, making sure it is submerged in the liquid. Allow the sauce to simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for 2-3 hours.
- Make the toppings. Dice the Roma tomato and the other half of the white onion. Finely chop the parsley. Mix together the three ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Shred the beef. Remove the beef from the pot and shred with two forks. Then return the shredded beef to the sauce and cook for another 20-30 minutes.
- Make the crispy mozzarella tortillas. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle some shredded mozzarella into the center of the un-greased pan so that it is about the same size as your small tortilla. Place the corn tortilla on top and cook for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and crispy. Flip, then cook for another minute. Remove from the pan and set onto a plate, then repeat until you make your desired number of tacos.
- Assemble the tacos. Add shredded beef on top of the crispy mozzarella tortilla, then top with the tomato, onion, and parsley and some shaved parmesan. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- You can use a variety of canned tomatoes for this recipe. You can either use a 14oz can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. Or you can use half of a 28oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes. If using whole, peeled tomatoes, crush the tomatoes by hand or with a wooden spoon or puree them in a blender before adding to the pot.
- This recipe makes a lot of tacos (a 2lb roast can make about 16-20 tacos using street taco-sized tortillas. If you are cooking for just one or two people and don’t want to keep eating tacos day after day, you can add leftover sauce and beef to your favorite pasta (I recommend tagliatelle or pappardelle).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 tacos
- Calories: 635
- Sugar: 8.8 g
- Sodium: 1301.9 mg
- Fat: 19.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.1 g
- Protein: 61.9 g
- Cholesterol: 134.8 mg