Chorizo and Yam Tacos

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Tacos are one of my absolute favorite dishes because they are so versatile. No matter what kind of food you eat, I bet I can make a taco that you would like. If not, then that’s okay. We just won’t be friends.

90% of the time I like my tacos standard. Some beef with lots of seasoning, cheese and sour cream or guacamole . But that can get boring. A few weeks ago I was in the mood for tacos so I made this lovely variation:

I made these mainly because it was hard for me to guess how the ingredients would taste together. The only way to know was to make them. The verdict is in and these are fantastic.

The chorizo and poblano peppers give plenty of spice and texture. The yams are a bit sweet and mellow out the taco. The red onions give bite and acid to the dish which is balanced with the feta. Honestly, it might be one of the best tacos I’ve had.

Yammy Chorizo Tacos (taken from Bon Appètit)
(makes 8-10 tacos)

1 pound chorizo
1 large yam or sweet potato
2 poblano peppers
1 large red onion
1 lime (just the juice)
Flour tortillas
Feta Cheese
Kosher salt

First, get your red onions marinating. The longer you let them marinate in the lime juice the more delicious they will be. Let them sit for at least 30 minutes though.

Next, I chopped up my yam and poblano. The yam should be peeled and chopped into matchsticks – a bit smaller than a french fry. The poblano should be cut into long, thin strips.

For the yams, add a few Tablespoons of water to the bowl and microwave them in a microwave safe bowl for about 4 minutes, stirring half-way through. This will soften up the yams a bit, but they still should have a bit of a crunch. You don’t want yam mush in your tacos.

We’ll deal with the poblanos later. Next, get out your chorizo. You need about a pound which is usually between 3 and 4 links. I went with three because I’m just feeding two people here. Adjust accordingly.

I would recommend spending a few extra bucks on good chorizo from the butcher. Get it as spicy or mild as you want, but cheap sausage would ruin this dish in my opinion.

Use a knife to cut off the casing from the chorizo and then brown it in a sautèe pan. Once it is cooked, add your poblano peppers to the mix and cook for a few more minutes. Once they start to soften up, add those yams.

Before you pack this filling into a tortilla I recommend warming up the tortilla a bit. You can do this in the microwave, but in my experience that makes them a bit soggy.

I recommend adding a few drops of oil to a pan and fry them for a few seconds on each side – one at a time. Takes a few minutes, but very worth it.

Then pack this filling in your warmed tortillas and top with feta cheese and the marinated red onions. For the record, I also tried these with corn tortillas but flour was definitely better for these guys.

These would be fantastic for a low key dinner party or a game day Sunday.