Chorizo and Yam Tacos
I could eat these once a week.
NOTE: This is an updated post that was originally published on Macheesmo in 2009 with new photos and a few recipe tweaks.
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.
Most of the time I’m fine with a standard taco. Some beef with lots of seasoning, cheese and sour cream or guacamole . But that can get boring.
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.
Yammy Chorizo Tacos
Yield: Serves 4.
Prep Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients:
1 pound chorizo
1 large yam or sweet potato
2 poblano peppers
Flour tortillas
Feta or cotija Cheese
Kosher salt
Quick Pickled Onions:
1 large red onion, sliced thin
1 lime, juice only
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Helpful Equipment:
Cast Iron Skillet
Directions:
1) Peel and slice red onions thinly. Add them to a bowl with the lime juice and a good pinch of salt. Cover and let marinate for at least 30 minutes while you make the rest of the fillings.
2) Chop up the yam and poblano peppers. Try to chop both into long matchsticks of roughly the same size.
3) Remove casing from chorizo if it has it on and start browning it in a skillet over medium high heat.
4) Once chorizo is cooked, add in poblanos and yams and cook until they start to soften.
5) Warm your tortillas in a hot skillet for a few seconds per side or you can do them in a large batch in the oven by wrapping them in foil and baking them for a few minutes at 350 degrees.
6) Add chorizo filling to a few tortillas and top with crumbled cheese and marinated onions.
Adapted from Bon Appetit.
Flavorful Veg
Potato and pepper.
The chorizo and poblano peppers give plenty of spice and texture. The yams are a bit sweet and mellow out the taco. It kind of looks like a strange flavor combo, but trust me when I say that it works perfectly.
These are essential, but my favorite part of these tacos are actually the pickle red onions. These give bite and acid to the dish which is balanced with the cotija or feta cheese.
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 at a minimum which is about the time it will take you to make the rest of the filling.
Quite the pickle.
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.
Matchsticks.
Start these guys by cooking the chorizo. You need about a pound which is usually between 3 and 4 links. If you can’t find good chorizo feel free to use spicy Italian sausage. You want something with some kick though.
I would recommend spending a few extra bucks on good chorizo from the butcher. Get it as spicy as you can stand, but cheap sausage would ruin this dish in my opinion.
Cooking the sausage.
Use a knife to cut off the casing from the chorizo and then brown it in a sautèe pan or cast iron skillet. Once it is cooked, add your veggies to the mix and cook for a few more minutes. It will look like an absurd amount of veggies, but they will cook down.
Lots of veg. They will shrink a bit.
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. If you’re doing a bunch, you could wrap them in foil and put them in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes until they are warm.
If you happen to have a gas grill, you can give them some quick char by just tossing them on a clean burner!
Gassed.
Flip them after about five seconds and they will be perfect.
This was my finished taco filling!
Smells so good!
Pack this filling in your warmed tortillas and top with crumbled cheese and the marinated red onions. For the record, I also tried these with corn tortillas but flour was definitely better for these guys.
One of the best tacos I make.
These would be fantastic for a low key dinner party or a game day Sunday.
If you are stuck in a Tex-mex or taco rut, give these a shot. They are very different and have some really interesting flavor.
http://bhas4.blogspot.com/ - "What's up, just wanted to mention, I loved this blog post. It was help..."
Anne-Marie - "This looks awesome! My husband and I are going camping this weekend, a..."
Claire - "As a lover of all things Cajun (I lived in Louisiana for several years..."
Marc - "This was great. I had no tahini so used peanut butter. Thanks for shar..."
Rob P - "I prefer cast iron pizza to using a stone. I have skillets but I also ..."
Whitney @ The Newlywed Chefs - "Nick, you've done your job well! I've been reminded that I need to mak..."
I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit and put it on my “to make” list. I’m glad to hear it turned out well – very helpful photos too – thanks!!
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I am planning on making this taco filling and tucking it into tostito scoops, and baking till hot – for New Years appetizers… YUM!
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i thought this was great- easy to do and very flavorful. highly recommended…
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Tacos are by far one of my favorite things to eat. This combination sounds really interesting and delicious! I also love to make my own flour tortillas. I could eat them all by themselves ;) Happy New Year!
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The sweet yams and spicy chorizo sounds like a great combo!
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i made something similar to this! yours is way more elaborate though, i like it. i looooooove pickled red onion -great idea. you definitely want to use sweet potatoes though -yams are totally different and the names are misused in the u.s. check out this quiz i put up on my blog -it explains the difference, i think you'll be surprsied ;)
http://sweetbytesblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/pop-qu…
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I was looking for something to do with this fantastic chorizo I got at our university’s butcher shop, and found these. Just made them and I cannot get over how delicious and interesting they were! I owe a lot of credit to the chorizo, sure, but the flavor combination altogether was spot-on. Thanks Nick!
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I LOVE yam tacos!! (or, sweet potato tacos) I made a veggie-friendly version last winter and this looks delish!! I will have to give it a try.
My recent post Grilled Pizza, Two Ways
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I kept reading this as Chorizo and Yarn Tacos. When it popped up on my RSS feed I just assumed it was one of the knitting blogs I follow.
That said, my Northern Mexican boyfriend could not be more horrified at yams in tacos…unless perhaps, I put yarn in tacos. That might or might not be worse. I will quietly make these one day when he is gone for my Pacific Northwestern self.
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These look really great! Where do you get the cotija cheese??? Such an interesting flavor combination! Yum!
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I’m just curious, for all of your recipes, is there anywhere we can find the nutritional information?? I am apart of a Biggest Loser Challenge via myfitnesspal.com and we are posting recipes, and I’d love to post some of yours (with link back to your site) but also the Nutritional Value. Please let me know. Thanks so much Nick!
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