It’s Taco Tuesday!

Ever since we saw the Lego Movie, we’ve been celebrating Taco Tuesday.  First, because it’s fun.  Second, because it can be very creative & delicious (which also is fun).

There was a wonderful article in the Wall Street Journal by Elizabeth G. Dunn (we love her writing) where she chronicles the comeback of the taco (click HERE to connect to her article).  As she states, “… gastronomy’s top echelon has plunged into a state of intense taco-consciousness.” 

So in homage to this new taco-consciousness, we present one of the recipes from the WSJ article, as well as two of our own, including our favorite veggie taco recipe.  You can also find our delicious Mexican Mole Pulled Pork Tacos by clicking HERE.

Tacos with Green Chile Sauce

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: Serves 4

Here we use the Hatch Chile Sauce from The Serious Foodie – but you can substitute any green chile sauce into this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 full boneless chicken breast, sliced into cutlets (to see a simple article from Serious Eats on how to prepare the cutlets, click HERE).
• 2 tablespoons or more of spice rub (we used the Serious Foodie TexMex spice rub – click HERE)
• 4 tablespoons safflower, or other neutral vegetable oil
• 1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 ounces (1/2 jar) of The Serious Foodie Hatch Chile Sauce,or any other green chile sauce or green salsa
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, or Mexican crema
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper
• 12 fresh corn tortillas, warmed
• 1 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese, cheddar, or any other tangy melting cheese
• 1 avocado, sliced

Instructions

1. Take each cutlet, and liberally use the spice rub on all sides. Wrap each prepared chicken cutlet tightly with plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator, for 2-16 hours.
2. Meanwhile, caramelize onions: Heat 2 tbs. oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions, tossing to coat with oil, until softened, 10 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons water, then reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and deep golden.  If pan becomes dry, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to prevent burning.
3. Remove from the chicken from the refrigerator about 10 minutes before cooking. Carefully pat dry – you can add more spice rub at this point, if you like.
4. Place about 2 tablespoons oil into a saute pan. Saute the chicken, about 5 minutes per side, on medium heat. Slice into strips
5. Add the Hatch Chile sauce and the cream into a sauce pan, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the desired thickness. Add the chopped cilantro, and season with salt and pepper as needed.
6. Toss the chicken with the sauce, and place onto the tacos.  Serve the tacos along with the caramelized onions, sliced avocado, and cheese.

3.2.2925

 Chorizo Tacos Recipe

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: Serves 4

At Minero in Charleston, Sean Brock uses house-made green chorizo to make these tacos. Use the herb-packed green version if you can find it, but in the more likely event that you can only find red chorizo, rest assured it will be delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 russet potatoes, peeled
• 3 tomatillos, quartered
• ½ yellow onion, quartered and rinsed
• ½ bunch cilantro, leaves and stems chopped, plus 1/4 cup chopped, for garnish
• Juice of 1 lime, plus 2 limes, quartered, for serving
• 1-2 serrano chilies, seeded and roughly chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 white onion, cut into ½-inch rings
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 8 yellow corn tortillas, warmed
• 3 tablespoons pork lard or canola oil
• 1 pound red chorizo, casing removed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Slice potatoes into ½-inch-by 3-inch planks. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and cook until soft but not mushy, 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, make salsa verde: In a blender, pulse tomatillos, yellow onions, cilantro, lime juice and chilies until roughly chopped. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Preheat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Lightly drizzle one side of white onions with oil. Once pan is hot, place onions, oil-side down, into pan, and cook, undisturbed, until well charred on one side, 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
4. Add 2 tablespoons pork lard and chorizo to cast-iron pan, and sauté, breaking up chorizo with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, 3-4 minutes. Remove chorizo from pan and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon more lard to pan, then reheat potatoes and white onions until warmed through, 2-3 minutes.
5. To serve, place chorizo inside of warmed tortillas, followed by 1 tablespoon salsa verde, potatoes and onions. Top with chopped cilantro and finish with a squeeze of lime.

There are a lot of other veggies that will work with recipe – but we really liked the version from the original Food & Wine article. As suggested by Food & Wine, a bit of shredded chicken, pork or beef, or maybe some grilled shrimp, can be added for the carnivores in the group.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 ounces creamy feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
• 2-3 ears fresh corn, cooked
• 1 can northern, or garbanzo beans – rinsed
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• Eight 6-inch flour tortillas
• 1 jar Serious Foodie Sauce (suggested: Hatch Chile, Mirasol Mole, or Blood Orange/Aji Panca. Click HERE to purchase)
• Avocado wedges, sliced radishes and cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

1. Working in a large bowl, cut the corn kernels off of the cobs. Add the beans and toss.
2. Using the back of a knife, scrape all of the corn milk from the cobs into a medium bowl. Add the yogurt, olive oil, cheese, chopped cilantro and cumin, season with salt and pepper and mix the corn crema until smooth. Add all but ½ cup of the corn crema to the corn and beans, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
3. Spoon the corn and beans onto the tortillas and top with avocado, radishes and cilantro sprigs. Add some of the remaining corn crema, and a spoonful of the Serious Foodie sauce.