We discovered the Elote Cafe in Sedona on an impromptu trip up there two years ago. We were visiting family just outside of Phoenix and we all decided to load up and head to Sedona- why you might ask? Because it’s amazing! What a lovely place- being in Sedona is the same feeling you get when you look at the stars in the middle of no where. There is a free, peaceful, liberated yet aware feeling that you get when looking at the wide open galaxy and that’s the same feeling you get when visiting the lovely town of Sedona.
We got there, settled in, swam in the pool (unlike Seattle, it was GORGEOUS weather in April!!) and then realized that we were starving. Thanks to a quick Yelp consultation, we found out that there was a highly rated restaurant up the street from our hotel and we decided to give it a try. Not only did they have amazing sangria and a patio to sip it on while we waited for our table (how is a restaurant PACKED in Sedona!?) but we discovered Elote which is the namesake dish of the restaurant. It’s made of fire roasted corn and spicy mayo and garnished with lime and Cotija cheese and it was absolutely stunning! We’ve made it at least 4-5 times each summer since we discovered it. You can find the recipe HERE.
The Arizona and subsequent Elote trip celebrated the birthday trip for both myself and the mister and believe it or not, we got a table visit from the wonderful Chef, Jeff Smedstad, who also signed my personal copy of the cookbook and took a picture with us at the table! Talk about an amazing birthday! Whenever I get a chance, I like to challenge myself and make a recipe and the mister asked me to make a recipe from the Elote cookbook so I told him to pick a few recipes and I would decide which one to cook. Thus, tonight’s Poblano Jalapeño Steak recipe came to life and let me tell you, it’s EPICLY good!!! Especially since I know that it will be a crock pot recipe next time and much less work!
Poblano Jalapeño Steak
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups diced onion
4 lb Stew Beef
1 tablespoons Mexican oregano
1 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 cups chopped jalapeños (12-15 large jalapeños)
3 cups chopped raw poblano (9 large poblano peppers)
2 cups water
1 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoons Maseca
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Chop the poblano,onion and jalapeños. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the grapeseed oil in a large heavy heated skillet and add two cups of the chopped poblano and the onion. Add the beef chunks and brown on all sides. Scrape browned beef and onions into an ovenproof casserole dish.
Add the remaining ingredients into a food processor and puree for 5-7 seconds. Pour over the steak and bake uncovered in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Serve with fresh cilantro garnish!
Notes for next time:
Next time this is going in the crock pot for SURE! I made double batch of the sauce so I have it in the freezer ready for next time!
Original recipe called for a 5 lb pork shoulder, cut 1-to-2 inch chunks but I had fresh, organic, grain fed free range beef in the freezer that I needed to use up and it was UH MAZING!!!!