Steak Tacos with Creamy Avocado Slaw

There is so much to consider when creating a recipe. You want to check all the flavor boxes at the same time as the texture boxes. Sure, plenty of recipes are pretty single-faceted. And they are still delicious. But when you try to check off more boxes, you have more than a recipe, more than a meal. It becomes an experience! Steak tacos with creamy avocado slaw are that experience.

Creamy, crunchy, chewy, yummy

Any regular day where I am throwing dinner together, I just grill the flank steak and throw salsa and cheese on top. Occasionally, I put more thought into it. This simple creamy avocado slaw is the extra bit of thought. The crunch from the slaw is just what it needs. I have made the crunchy slaw without a creamy dressing and just used apple cider vinegar, but I think I prefer the creamy dressing.

I have made this with mayonnaise, but you can use sour cream or Greek yogurt just fine. Just use what you have on hand. I had mayo. And also because I am not a fan of yogurt or sour cream (winky emoji). The avocado brings in the best little bite of creaminess and really completes this tangy slaw.

Corn or flour? The great debate

What does your family prefer when it comes to tortillas? My lame kids don’t like corn tortillas. They act like I am completely unreasonable to serve them corn tortillas. Like genuinely offended. So I usually do flour tortillas. And I have my mom’s old electric tortilla press that we used when I was growing up. It’s like a waffle iron, but a flat surface. When you press down on it with the handle, it makes an awful, almost screeching noise. My mom would say it was the sound of “souls in torment”.

When I make my own flour tortillas, I am sure I am doing it wrong and any proper Mexican abuelita would be horrified. In the food processor, I combine flour, salt, vegetable oil and water. It comes together a dough and then I shape little balls of it and press it on the tortillas press. I am sure I could do it without the tortilla press and just make it in a skillet. Someday I will figure that out.

Notes on preparation

• Can you use a different cut of beef instead of flank? Absolutely. Tritip would work great and I have made tacos with that plenty of times. You could also go next level and do a couple ribeye steaks.
• If you want to cut down on time for these steak tacos with creamy avocado slaw, use a bag of coleslaw mix from the grocery store. Do 4 cups of the cabbage mixture, which is about half of the bag. How can you use the rest of the bag? Saute it up for breakfast with a couple fried eggs.
• Yeah yeah yeah, I know. I didn’t put any cheese on it. If you want cheese, crumbled queso fresco is a good bet. Everyone seems to like that stuff.

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