Tacos de papa con chorizo is a classic Mexican dish. You dice and fry some potatoes, fry your chorizo, mix it together and put it on a taco.
I felt I could fiddle with it, both in terms of texture and depth of flavour. I was so happy with the end result ! I replaced the potato with sweet potato, which brings a sweet, fruity flavour that pairs perflectly with the heat of the chorizo and the hot sauce. The sweet potato is mashed with butter, not sautéed : it forms a sweet little pillow on your taco, making it feel less dry.
Sweet potato & chorizo tacos – Recipe
Ingredients – Advice & key points
The trickiest part of the recipe is to get the ingredients. The rest is a breeze !
- If you’re in France or in Spain, you can order from La Esquinita. They also have a physical shop in Paris I go to. This is where you can find authentic hot sauces (my favourite is this one, but only if you’re used to eating spicy food) and tacos de maïz.
- If you’re in Île-de-France, you can find the tastiest Colombian chorizos from El man de los chorizos. I had a Colombian friend recommend it to me (thanks Tatiana, if you read me !) and I understand why. Mine is the spicy one.
For my other pals all over the world, just tell me where you live and I will look online if I can find some good options for you ! You can also make a quick google search for Mexican shops, I believe it will not be too hard to find in most countries.
Ingredients – A few specifics
- Tacos : I recommend using corn tacos, which are more traditional are flavorful than their wheat counterpart.
- Mexican chorizo : Don’t confuse Mexican chorizo with Spanish chorizo. A Mexican-type chorizo is seasoned raw meat (often within a sausage) and is usually cooked like ground meat, removed from its casing. My Colombian (haha, sorry it’s confusing) chorizo belongs to this kind. Spanish chorizo, on the other hand, is a dried cured sausage that you cannot crumble. Its texture is very different and would be inappropriate here.
If you cannot find it, there are some recipes online for it. There are also interesting vegetarian alternatives ; I hope to try one soon.
- Pickled onions : If you don’t have some on hand, just use lime juice.
Now let’s cook it !
If you want more butternut recipes, you can also check my Butternut and guanciale pasta or my Autumn mini-pizzas. (ajouter liens)
Sweet potato & chorizo tacos
Description
Those are some damn good tacos. The juicy chorizo is packed with flavour ; the sweet potato adds a delicate, nutty flavour, and the hot sauce/pickled onion/cilantro trio brings all the freshness and contrast that is needed.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Start prepping
Fill a pot with ~2l of water, and turn on the heat.
Peel and dice your potato in chunks, so that they boil quicker.
Mince your cilantro.
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Chorizo time
Remove your chorizos from their casings. Smash them with a spoon until they look like ground meat again.
Use a knife to slightly cut the sausages' casings vertically (don't cut too deep), then pull on each side of the casing to remove it (see video). -
Onto the stove
Boil your sweet potato until fork tender (~ 20 minutes).
While they boil, heat a pan with 1 tbsp oil (optional, I added some because my chorizo isn't that fat) and cook your chorizo (~ 7 minutes).
Your chorizo should not be fully browned, else it might become too dry. Some cooking liquid should remain. Make sure to salt your boiling water appropriately (12g/liter) to make your sweet potatoes tastier. Don't worry, most of it will remain in the water. -
Mash it !
Once cooked, drain your potato. Add your butter (divided in 2 or 3), then purée.
Taste and adjust for salt.
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Let's assemble !
Warm your corn tacos in a hot pan, 20-30 sec on each side.
Assemble : ~1 tbsp purée, 1 tbsp chorizo, a few pickled onions slices, a bit of cilantro. Finish with drops of your favourite hot sauce.
Et voilà ! You’re done !!
Replace pickled onions with lime juice if you don't have any.