Hollywood hardman Danny Trejo on the appeal of tacos, plus his steak asada taco recipe
Danny Trejo: 'Mexican food, tacos – they’re the easiest thing.' Pictures: Trejo’s Tacos/PA
Danny Trejo has spent his career playing machete-wielding hardmen on screen, belying a gentler personality behind-the-scenes.
He talks about his childhood in Los Angeles with warmth – particularly the way food brought everyone together.
“You know what, it was my mum’s house. It didn’t matter what time we came home – food was like the peacemaker, you walked in and she fed everybody,” Trejo, 79, remembers.
“It calmed everybody down. My house was the place where we had all the family parties and all the family get-togethers. One time I had a party – it was high school – and my mum and dad stole the show because they could dance, do the swing and stuff.”
Trejo adds with his signature braying laugh that he managed to stuff “like 300 kids” into the alley at the back of their house – with everyone flocking there for a good time and, of course, good food.
Trejo’s early life of crime is well documented, resulting in various stints in prison, before he made his way into Hollywood in the 1980s. What started as bit parts and roles as an extra soon morphed into a full-blown career: playing Isador ‘Machete’ Cortez in Spy Kids and the Machete franchise, as well as appearing in films like Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn and Con Air.
Off-screen, Trejo says he’s “always been health conscious” – particularly when working.
He recounts how appearing in low-budget films meant he always brought his own meals and snacks, because all that would be provided was fast food.
“I don’t eat processed food – I wanna cook my own hamburger!” he says.
“This producer called Ash [Shah] – who is now one of my business partners – he was the one that saw me eating my little tuna salad or chicken salad when everybody else was eating Mickey D’s. He was like, ‘Trejo – you eat good’.
“I was like, ‘I’m 70 years old, I better!’ And he said – ‘Why don’t you open a restaurant?’ Joking, I said: ‘Trejo’s Tacos’.”
What started as a joke soon turned into a full-blown business plan – Trejo said when he first saw the pitch for his own line of restaurants: “I opened it, and there were no killings or mayhem on the first page. Not my remit.”
But it obviously struck a chord – and in 2016, the first LA outpost was established and “killed it”, Trejo says. Now, he’s opening his first international joint – in London.
“Mexican food, tacos – they’re the easiest thing. It’s so funny, everybody has a special way they want their tacos – but they’re so simple and they’re so good. It’s really hard to make a bad taco. You have to really not like somebody to make a bad taco.”
Many of the recipes at Trejo’s Tacos were taken from his mother, but with a fundamental change.
“In the 50s and 60s, Latinos cooked with lard. So we had to take that out – everything that wasn’t healthy, we changed it for everything that was healthy,” Trejo explains.
There are plenty of vegan options on the menu, too – including tacos made from jackfruit and cauliflower.
“People think you have to be on some kind of diet – you don’t! Let me have some jackfruit, let me have some cauliflower, it helps clean out your system.”
There are also gluten-free options – not least because Trejo is allergic to gluten himself.
“I didn’t know that I was allergic to gluten – I would just eat and go do whatever I had to do, but it gives you acid reflux – and that’s what it did for me. When I found out I was allergic to gluten, I stopped – and no more acid reflux.”
Trejo celebrated 55 years of sobriety last year, and he says being teetotal has helped him appreciate food even more.
“People don’t understand with liquor – first of all, you’re putting three spoons of sugar on every bite. That’s what booze is made from, sugar. I know – I used to make pruno,” he says, referring to what’s often called ‘prison wine’, an alcoholic beverage largely made from fermented fruit.
“It’s the same thing when you drink a soda with food, it’s like you’re taking [away] the taste of the food. I love the taste of food – if I didn’t work out, we’d be doing an Overeaters Anonymous commercial right now.”
In his 70s, Trejo says walking keeps him fit – and the mental benefits definitely help. “You get to burn off the calories and the anxieties walking.”
Danny Trejo’s steak asada taco
The key to this dish is a citrusy marinade for the steak.
Servings
4Preparation Time
30 minsCooking Time
30 minsTotal Time
60 minsCourse
MainIngredients
For the marinade:
½ large white onion, roughly chopped
3 chipotle chillies from a can of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce,
plus 2tbsp of the sauce
2 medium jalapeños, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves
½ cup roughly chopped fresh coriander
¾ cup orange juice (preferably fresh)
½ cup pure olive oil
¼ cup soy sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1tbsp ground cumin
1tbsp smoked paprika
For the taco:
12 tortillas
250g flank steak
50ml Trejo’s marinade
Salt and pepper to taste
For the salsa verde (makes about 2 cups):
12 medium tomatillos, papery skin removed, tomatillos left whole
1 medium jalapeño, left whole
2 garlic cloves
½ medium white onion
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
Juice of 1 lime, plus extra to taste
1tbsp kosher salt, plus extra to taste
For the verde slaw:
200g white cabbage
50g red cabbage
15g grated carrot
50ml salsa verde
5g sea salt
For the garnish:
Pinch of chopped coriander
1 lime, quartered
Method
For the marinade: Combine the onion, chipotles and sauce, jalapeños, garlic, coriander, orange juice, olive oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, cumin, and paprika in a food processor or blender and puree. Transfer the marinade to a large self-seal plastic bag or airtight container.
For the salsa verde: Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat until it is very hot, about four minutes. Add the whole tomatillos and jalapeño. They should sizzle when they hit the dry hot pan. Cook until the vegetables are black and blistered in spots and soft on one side, five to seven minutes. Use tongs to turn the tomatillos and jalapeño over. Add the garlic cloves. Cook the tomatillos, jalapeño and garlic until the tomatillos and jalapeño are blistered and the garlic cloves are toasted but not burned, five to seven minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Transfer the tomatillos, jalapeño and garlic to a blender or food processor and add the onion, coriander, lime juice and salt. Process until the sauce is completely smooth. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if desired. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and chill before serving, or refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to five days.
Marinade flank steak in Trejo’s marinade for at least 30 minutes.
Grill steak until charred, about five minutes on each side (depending on size).
Shred the cabbage for the verde slaw, add carrot, salt and salsa verde and reserve for later.
Heat up the tortilla, top the tortilla with steak asada, verde slaw and salsa verde.
Trejo’s Tacos: Recipes And Stories From LA by Danny Trejo is published in hardback by Penguin Random House. Book and cover design by Jen Wang, photography by Ed Anderson. Available now.
Danny Trejo’s shrimp tostada recipe
This zesty dish is simple but very effective.
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
15 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
MainIngredients
4 corn tortillas
10ml olive oil
32 shrimps
112g butter
20g garlic
Pinch of salt and pepper
20g red chilli
340g guacamole
For the garnish:
24 pickled red onions
Pinch of chopped coriander
1 lime, quartered
Method
Lightly brush corn tortillas with oil. Lay the tortillas flat on a baking sheet and bake at 200°C for five minutes. Then flip them over and bake them for an additional five to 10 minutes, or until the tortillas are crispy and golden.
Sauté shrimp with butter, garlic, pinch of salt and pepper and crushed red chilli.
Spread 85 grams of guacamole evenly on each tostada.
Garnish each tostada with six pickled red onions and a pinch of chopped coriander. Serve with lime wedge.
Trejo’s Tacos: Recipes And Stories From LA by Danny Trejo is published in hardback by Penguin Random House. Book and cover design by Jen Wang, photography by Ed Anderson. Available now.
Danny Trejo’s cauliflower tostada recipe
This simple yet delicious dish can be on the table in under half an hour.
Servings
4Cooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
20 minsCourse
MainIngredients
4 corn tortillas
1 medium cauliflower head
2tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Pickled onions
Avocado crema
2tbsp Arbol flakes (optional)
For the garnish:
24 pickled red onions
Pinch of chopped coriander
1 lime, quartered
Method
Preheat the oven.
Scatter the cauliflower florets on the tray and season with salt and pepper.
Roast cauliflower to your desired tenderness.
Heat up the tortilla, top the tostada with cauliflower, pickled onions and avocado crema. And serve with lime wedge.
Trejo’s Tacos: Recipes And Stories From LA by Danny Trejo is published in hardback by Penguin Random House. Book and cover design by Jen Wang, photography by Ed Anderson. Available now.
- Trejo’s Tacos will open in London from February 27.
