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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Chorizo and Potato Tacos

If you live in the Los Angeles area, here is news for anyone seeking truly local, pasture raised meat. Lindy and Grundy has opened their doors and it is a joy to behold! I visited a few days ago and when we walked in my mom stopped dead in her tracks and said, "it smells like my uncle's butcher shop" from 60 years ago in northern Wisconsin. Yup, the smell of fresh raw meat. There is nothing like it.

Staffed by lots (and lots) of wide-eyed, bushy tailed young folk who are clearly over the moon about working there and thrilled to let you taste anything as well as give you extensive details on the origin and treatment of each piece, this is practically a field trip back in time rather than a mere shopping excursion. I told myself this was only a reconnaissance trip. Ha! I can't imagine who I thought I was fooling! I left with 2 lbs of sausage, freshly made that morning - two each of chorizo, andouille, kielbasa, and lamb.

This is a simple preparation - saute chorizo with potatoes to make a hearty taco filling. Trust me and do not skimp on the cilantro-onion mince, it brings it all together. While homemade corn taco shells are phenomenal and I have made them, using store-bought are pretty good as long as you remember to heat them for a few minutes to soften them up before eating.

Chorizo and Potato Tacos

1/2 lb fresh (uncooked) chorizo sausage
2 medium red potatoes, diced (1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional, if your sausage doesn't release fat or oil)
1/2 small red onion
2 tablespoons cilantro
pinch salt
salsa for garnish
6 corn taco shells
lime wedges for serving

Pinch sausage out of its casing into a skillet over medium heat and cook 2-3 minutes. Add olive oil if necessary and potatoes and stir well to coat with oil. Cook another 5-8 minutes until potatoes are tender and sausage is cooked through. Meanwhile, mince onion and cilantro together until very fine. Place in small container and stir in pinch of salt. If you make your own taco shells, do so before beginning filling. If you are using store-bought, heat taco shells in toaster oven for 2-3 minutes; this reduces breakage when you eat them. Remove from oven and fill with chorizo and potato filling, top with favorite salsa and sprinkle on onion and cilantro mixture. Squeeze lime over top if using and enjoy!

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me: 

Ramp Carbonara at Closet Cooking
Roast Wild Boar with Green Mango at Honey From Rock
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Seeds at Thyme for Cooking

1 comment:

Joanne said...

You know, if a store like that opened up here, I'd be much more keen on eating meat! These tacos sound delicious! When you have good quality meat like that, you only need the bare minimum of ingredients to make it taste good!