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Office Lunch: Bring the heat to your workday with Lucky Taco’s carne asada bowl recipe

Lucky Taco River District’s former executive chef Christian Chaumont spills the beans on his taco bowl recipe

By The Editors /

Spice up your office lunch with this beautifully balanced meal from Lucky Taco River District’s former executive chef Christian Chaumont.

Ingredients

Taco bowl

  • 100 g refried beans
  • 60 g pico de gallo (see below)
  • ½ avocado
  • 70 g grilled asada veggies (instructions under Method)
  • 25 g queso fresco
  • 150 g AAA flank steak
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp grapeseed or other neutral high-smoke oil
  • Handful of tender sweet pea shoots, for garnish
  • Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish

Grilled asada veggies

  • ¼ small yellow onion
  • ¼ small red pepper
  • ¼ small poblano pepper
  • 1 tbsp grapeseed or other neutral high-smoke oil
  • Salt to taste

Method

To prepare the veggies for your bowl, cut all the vegetables into strips. You can add as many as you like. Try to sustain equal proportions of onion, red pepper and poblano pepper.

In a preheated skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp grapeseed oil. Add vegetables and salt. Sauté until translucent and slightly charred. Set aside.

Dust flank steak liberally on both sides with smoked paprika, cumin, pepper and salt. Let steak sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.

Preheat a heavy skillet or cast-iron pan on high heat for 2 minutes. Add grapeseed oil and carefully place steak on hot skillet. Make sure you place the steak away from you to avoid getting splashed with hot oil.

Let steak char on high heat for 2 minutes, then flip. Cook for another 2 minutes, then flip again and cook for 1 more minute. Remove the steak and let rest for 3 minutes. If you’d like your steak cooked medium or well done, cook for longer depending on the thickness of your steak.

To assemble your taco bowl, place warm refried beans at the bottom of your bowl and spread. Add pico de gallo and distribute along the bowl. Thinly slice your steak and place in the middle of your bowl. Add your asada veggies on top. Garnish with sliced avocado, queso fresco and sweet pea shoots. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over your avocado and 1 tsp of sea salt. Enjoy!

Pico de Gallo

  • 1 ripe roma tomato
  • ¼ small red onion
  • ¼ bunch cilantro
  • 20 g fresh corn kernels, cooked
  • ½ jalapeño (deseeded)
  • 1 fresh lime
  • Salt to taste

Dice tomato, onion and jalapeño and place in a bowl. Mince cilantro and add to the bowl along with the fresh cooked corn kernels. Squeeze lime juice over the ingredients and sprinkle with salt. Mix thoroughly and reserve.