Thursday, April 10, 2008

Chorizo Tacos


Since we'll be out of town this weekend, we're trying to clean out the fridge of any leftovers, so I haven't been doing a lot of cooking this week. I did try a new apple dumpling recipe last night, but you'll have to wait until fall for me to share it.

Today, I thought I'd take a little bit of time to share a fabulous recipe for Chorizo Tacos that I prepared for last Friday's supper. It's a quick, easy recipe from Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures: Recipes and Stories, a book written by Rick Bayless and his daughter. Mr. Bayless is a Chicago chef who has garnered numerous awards, including the James Beard National Chef of the Year. I've tried several of his recipes and haven't been disappointed yet. He seems to be rooted in using simple, fresh, and seasonal ingredients, and he doesn't get too uppity about food.

The success of this recipes hinges on two important elements:

1. Roasting your own green chiles. You could make this recipe with canned green chiles, but I like the flavor of fresh peppers. I also like the whole experience of roasting chiles. I usually use a poblano chile, but you could easily substitute an Anaheim. For a guide to chile peppers, click on the following link at The Cook's Thesaurus: A guide to chile peppers. If you're unsure of how to roast a chile pepper, consult the following link: How to roast a chile pepper.

2. Good chorizo. I'm sure you could make this with a less expensive chorizo, but I like the sausage made by The Community Mercantile in Lawrence. I don't know a lot about chorizo, but I look forward to learning more in the coming years. If you're a vegetarian, there's a product called Soyrizo that you could use in place of chorizo. I haven't tried it, but I plan on slipping it into a meal in the near future.

Chorizo Tacos


Ingredients:
  • 8 ounces (1 cup) Mexican chorizo sausage
  • 3 medium (3/4 pound) red potatoes
  • Salt
  • 2 medium poblano chiles roasted
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I think you could get by with a little less)
  • 1 small onion
Condiments
  • salsa
  • guacamole
  • sour cream
  • cheese
  • cilantro
  1. Cook chorizo in large skillet. Break it up as it throughly cooks. If there's a lot of fat, drain it off. Remove chorizo from the skillet.
  2. Cut potatoes in half, then cut each half into 4 pieces. Place potato pieces in non-metal bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high power for 4 to 5 minutes, until completely tender.
  3. Pour oil into skillet and heat over medium heat. Add sliced onion and stir regularly. Cook for 2 minutes until onions are translucent.
  4. Add potatoes and cook. Stir regularly and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
  5. Stir in chiles and chorizo. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes more. Taste and season with salt if necessary (Although I've never needed to salt this recipe because there's plenty of seasoning in the chorizo.)
  6. Keep warm over very low heat.
  7. Serve: Heat corn tortillas according to directions on the package. Serve with your choice of condiments. I usually keep this taco very simple as you can see in the pictures. I usually only eat it with a little cilantro and maybe some guacamole.
Enjoy,
muddywaters

1 comment:

kellypea said...

My husband would love these. I'd probably have to have him deal with the chorizo, though. My track record with it proves I'm challenged in that particular department. It's humbling. Now the Spanish chorizo, I can handle. Go figure.