Fall In Love with this Mexican Skillet Featuring "Olive This! Persian Lime Oil."

This month I was invited by Stephanie Sherrill, one of the owners of Olive This!, to become a recipe collaborator. As we browsed the store, chatting while deciding on a product to feature in the first ‘Bling Cuisine with Olive This!’ recipe series I couldn't help feeling it was such a thrill to be able to meet her in person. I wasn't doing this virtually. I was ACTUALLY strolling through a showroom brimming with recipe-possibility. Although we’re not completely out of the woods with the pandemic, I’m profoundly grateful we’re mostly set free to enjoy the world again. 

​It’s been a year, eh? There are reams of paper filled with stories and anecdotes about what we learned from this loooong lock-down. However, my speculations weren’t all expressed in written form. They were also spread across a cutting board, mixed into sauces, seared on a hot pan, and set before loved ones at mealtime. I’ve always expressed my deepest thoughts through food.

As you read this recipe, you’ll get an immediate sense what my cooking style is like. Flavors, colors, and textures should all wake up the palette. It should be interesting by accessible. Every ingredients should be respected and elevated. -- All those things are inherent in my Mexican Beef Skillet with Apricot Persian Lime Salsa & Turmeric Spiced Rice.

Let me do some teaching first. S L O W L Y simmering beef is mostly a problem solver in addition to a technique. The toughest cuts of beef are rendered luxuriously tender with heat and time. That means you can save money buy only beef chuck for this meal. When combined with a yummy simmering sauce you now have a foundation from which to build so many flavor themes.

Because I wanted to feature the Persian Lime Oil, I went with Mexican and Middle East spices for my focus. But I also wanted some top notes for relief, so stone fruit was blended with traditional salsa ingredients to wake it up. And a bright yellow plate of turmeric rice cradled it all like a spotlight on a soloist.

I know there's a temptation to just dump everything in at once. But I encourage you start with searing the meat and then adding your aromatics like onion and garlic. Layering and building flavor is about steps, not expertise. so don't skip it. Adding a fresh bouquet of herbs is the final secret weapon so that now, all you need is a lid and 90 minutes!

Don’t let yourself believe this is a difficult dish to make. I’ve always insisted adventurous and sensuous cooking is within reach for all cooks. That’s why I’m inviting you to access your culinary imagination whenever you’re in the kitchen (and grab a bottle of something from Olive This!). Please, give this recipe a try!!

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RECIPE: Mexican Beef Skillet
With Apricot Persian Lime Salsa & Turmeric Spiced Rice

Serves 6 | Click here to download printable PDF version.

• Ingredients
• Method
• Notes

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INGREDIENTS BEEF SKILLET:
3 T Olive This! Persian Lime Oil
1 ½ lbs. beef chuck cut into small 2” strips
1 ½ t kosher salt 1 t black pepper
5 oz. sliced shitake mushrooms (or sliced Baby Bella mushrooms)
2 C carrots sliced into chunks
¾ C white onion chopped into large chunks
3 large cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1 packet McCormick’s Taco Seasoning Mix
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 C water
1 large bouquet of fresh herbs tied with string: 4 large sage leaves, 2 large rosemary sprigs, 2 large sprigs oregano, large sprig thyme.
¼ C chopped fresh Italian Parsley
 
INGREDIENTS RICE:
1 C Jasmine Rice
1 ¾ C water
1 t dried turmeric
½ t Turkish Spice Blend(*SEE NOTES section for flavor profile of this blend.) Still yummy without this if you don't have it, by the way.
 
INGREDIENTS SALSA:
2 large ripe apricots cut into small chunks (No need to peel. You can also use peaches or nectarines.)
1 C halved cherry tomatoes
2 T chopped and seeded jalapeño
¼ C chopped fresh cilantro
¼ C chopped red onion
1 T fresh lime juice
1 ½ T Olive This! Persian Lime Oil
½ t kosher salt + ½ T black pepper

Make salsa by adding all ingredients to a large bowl. Blend and cover until ready to serve.
 
Tie the herbs together and set aside.
 
Heat a very large sauté pan (12" or larger and keep enough to hold everything) to high heat and add the 3 T Persian Lime Oil. When almost to smoke point add the beef pieces. Let sear and stir until one side is beginning to brown. If there is moisture and it begin to bubble, keep stirring and let cook until that recedes and the sound of searing beef returns. Add the salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and stir in. Let them sear continuing to keep pan on high heat. After about 3 minutes add the carrots, onions, and garlic. Stir everything together and cook for about 2 minutes or so until onions are soft. Add the taco mix, tomato paste, and water blending all with a large spoon. When combined, nestle the herb bouquet by gently nestling into the mixture. Cover, turn to low, and let bubble gently for 90 minutes.
 
While beef is cooking bring the water, rice, turmeric, and Turkish spice blend to boil. Cover, remove from heat. Set timer for 20 minutes.
 
After the 90 minutes remove lid, stir in about half the parsley for color before serving. 
 
To plate spoon a serving of rice onto a place. Cover with the beef mixture. Then ladle a few spoonfuls of the salsa next to the beef. Garnish with the remaining parsley and a flourish of cracked black pepper and kosher salt.

*NOTE: Most Turkish Spice mixtures contain paprika, sometimes dried mint, cinnamon, garlic powder, coarsely ground cumin seed, kosher salt and black pepper, and ground cloves. Experiment with ratios making the paprika and cinnamon 2 parts, to ½ part for all the rest.

©Recipe and Photo Copyright Camine Pappas, 2021. All rights reserved.