Potato and Chorizo Tacos

by Lily Ramirez-Foran, featured in Tacos

Published by Blasta Books

Introduction

This taco filling is a classic that features in almost every Mexican cook’s repertoire. I normally use raw chorizo sausage as opposed to the dry-cured Spanish chorizo we usually get in Ireland, but if all you have is Spanish chorizo, use it. This taco is the perfect introduction to Mexican food for a nervous or picky Irish eater because there are potatoes in it and chorizo is pretty common these days. I use Rooster potatoes as they’re nice and sturdy, but Maris Pipers are a good waxy potato and baby potatoes work well too.

See this link for making your own tortillas.

As featured in

Tacos

Image of Hold Taco — Illustration by Nicky Hooper

Ingredients

Serves: 4-6

FOR THE SMOKY REFRIED BEANS

1 x 560 grams tin of whole Mexican black beans - drained (don’t rinse them, as you don’t want to wash away the flavour)
150 millilitres water
2 chipotle chillies in adobo sauce
1 medium garlic clove (peeled)
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
80 grams onions (finely diced)

FOR THE DE ARBOL SALSA ROJA

2 teaspoons olive oil
450 grams medium-sized ripe vine tomatoes
5 grams dried de árbol chillies
2 spring onions (ends trimmed)
1 large garlic clove (peeled and left whole)
1 vegetable stock cube
1 small bunch of fresh coriander
flaky sea salt (to taste)

FOR THE FILLING

2 tablespoons sunflower oil
600 grams potatoes (peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes)
flaky sea salt
300 grams fresh or dry-cured chorizo (cut into small pieces)
150 grams onions (halved and thinly sliced)
1 small fresh red jalapeño chilli (finely chopped)
1 large ripe tomato (cut into small cubes)
75 millilitres pale ale

FOR THE TACOS

smoky refried beans - see above (warmed)
16 corn tortillas (warmed) - and see the intro for the link for making your own
de árbol salsa roja - see above
250 grams feta cheese (crumbled)

Method

Potato and Chorizo Tacos is a guest recipe by Lily Ramirez-Foran so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

FOR THE SMOKY REFRIED BEANS:

Put the drained beans in a blender or food processor with the water, chipotles, garlic, oregano, cumin seeds and pepper. Blend until you have a smooth sauce. Remember, you can make your refried beans hotter by adding extra chipotles or some of the delicious adobo sauce they come in. I always start with two chillies, blend and taste before adding more. There is no way back with chillies – once you have added too many, you can’t take them out!
Heat the oil in a small non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat. Add the onion and fry for 2 minutes, until translucent. Pour in the bean sauce, making sure to scrape all of it out. If you need to use a little bit of water to dislodge some of the beans, feel free to do so, just not too much (the more water you add, the longer you’ll spend at the stove reducing the beans).
Lower the heat to medium and ‘refry’ your beans. Beans can stick to the bottom of the pan and burn quite quickly, so keep an eye on them. Cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring constantly, until they are the consistency of runny honey or custard. The beans will thicken more as they cool down, so bear that in mind. I tend to correct the seasoning at the end only if necessary, but most of the time I don’t add any salt as the beans are already correctly seasoned in the tin.

FOR THE SALSA ROJA:

Heat the oil in a small non-stick frying pan (one with a tight-fitting lid) over a high heat. Add the tomatoes, chillies, spring onions and garlic. You might need to cut the spring onions in half so that they fit in the pan, but everything else goes in whole. As soon as it starts to sizzle, cover the pan with its lid and lower the heat to medium.
Set a timer for 20 minutes and resist the temptation to lift the lid during this time. This is super important, as the condensation that builds up inside the pan goes into the lid and then drops back into the tomatoes, showering them with moisture and giving your salsa the right consistency.
Once the timer goes, your tomatoes should have burst a little and be fully cooked. Transfer the contents of the pan, including every bit of juice and oil, into a blender or food processor. Add the stock cube and the coriander (stems and all) and blend everything together until you have a smooth, creamy salsa. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary. I never add salt to this salsa until I taste it first, as some stock cubes can be quite salty.
This salsa lasts for a week in the fridge, covered. I don’t particularly like freezing tomato-based salsas, as the texture is never right afterwards, so if you have leftovers, think of creative ways to use it in your meals. It’s so good, you won’t have a problem!

FOR THE POTATO AND CHORIZO TACOS:

Preheat the oven to a low heat for warming later on. Place an ovenproof serving bowl in the oven to warm up too.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat, then add the potatoes and season with flaky sea salt. Don’t crowd the potatoes, so make sure your pan is large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer (or cook them in batches). Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides. Stir in the chorizo, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the chorizo has released all its ruby juices. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking, but not too frequently as you don’t want mushy potatoes.
Add the onion and chilli and continue to cook until the onion has softened a little. Add the tomato and beer and cook for a further 3 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and the beer has reduced by half and turned everything into a reddish sauce. At this point, the potatoes should be soft but still have a little bit of bite to them.
Transfer the contents of the pan to the warmed serving bowl and return to the oven to keep warm while you get the rest of the taco components ready.
To assemble your tacos, add a spoonful of spicy refried beans to a warm corn tortilla, followed by a good amount of potato and chorizo filling. Crown with a drizzle of salsa and some crumbled feta cheese.