Three Choice Taco Recipes

\ Apr 19, 2012

4 min read

3 choice taco recipes — And my personal favorite, baby meat taco

We ran a web contest soliciting top taco recipes from readers. The winners get tickets to our Taco USA party tonight at El Pinto, which stars Al hurricane and ¡Ask a Mexican! columnist Gustavo Arellano. It also stars free tacos.

Here are three winners’ recipes!

Tacos de Papa

from Jaque Fragua

1 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. sugar

2 ripe tomatoes, cored

2 red jalapeños, stemmed

1 clove garlic, smashed, plus 2 cloves, minced

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 cup canola oil

18 corn tortillas

thinly sliced green cabbage and tomatoes, and crumbled cotija cheese, for serving

Instructions:

Puree cilantro, oregano, sugar, tomatoes, jalapeños, smashed garlic, and 2/3 cup water in a blender until smooth; set salsa aside.

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil, add potatoes, and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Add minced garlic, butter, salt, pepper, and cumin, and mash until smooth. Set potato mixture aside.

Heat oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Spread 1 heaping tbsp. potato mixture over half of each tortilla, and fold over to form a taco. Working in batches, add tacos to oil and fry, turning once, until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes.

Stuff cabbage, tomatoes, and cotija into tacos; drizzle with salsa before serving.

Veggie Taco

from Angela Mitchell, who writes: “Who says you need meat tacos?!?!”

1 can (~16 oz) pinto beans, drained

1 can (~16 oz) black beans, drained

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, minced (remove the seeds if you don’t want your tacos to be spicy)

1 fresh clove of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 tablespoons of chunky salsa

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (increase or decrease amount to adjust spice level)

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder (optional)

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)

8 corn hard taco shells

1 fresh tomato, chopped (topping)

shredded iceberg lettuce (topping)

1 can (~6 oz) black olives, chopped (topping)

shredded monterey jack cheese (topping)

salsa or hot sauce (topping)

fresh cilantro, chopped (topping)

sour cream (topping)

spanish rice (side)

refried beans (side)

Instructions:

Pre-heat the over to 325 degrees F (for the taco shells later on).

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the chopped onion, celery, green pepper, jalapeño, and garlic to the frying pan. Cook this until all the veggies are done to the level you prefer.

Next, take the drained pinto and black beans and add them to the frying pan along with the spices and a few spoonfuls of salsa.

Mix together all of the ingredients that are now in the frying pan and cook over medium heat until everything is all heated up (be careful not to overcook since the veggies should already be just about done).

Place your corn taco shells on a baking pan and bake them in the oven (which should already be heated to 325 degrees F) for about 5 minutes.

Remove the shells from the oven, let them cool off a little bit, then add the cooked vegetarian taco filling.

Top your tacos with any of the optional vegetarian taco toppings above such as fresh tomato, black olives, monterey jack cheese, hot sauce, fresh cilantro and/or sour cream.

Serve with a side of refried beans and rice.

Enjoy your vegetarian tacos!

Roasted Chicken Tacos

from Jessika Velasquez

6 tomatillos, husked, washed and grilled until blackened

1 serrano, grilled until blackened

olive oil

1/2 small red onion coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic coarsely chopped

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

8 blue corn tortillas

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

Instructions:

Preheat the grill to medium. Add the blackened tomatillos and serrano to a small sauté pan and briefly sauté in a little olive oil on the grates of the grill.

Place the tomatillos, serrano, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and honey in a blender and blend until smooth. Place the tomatillo mixture in a large sauté pan and place on the grates of the grill. Bring the mixture to a simmer, add the chicken, and heat through.

Place the tortillas on the grill, and grill for 20 seconds on each side. Spoon the chicken mixture into the tortillas and top with a few tablespoons of queso fresco.

Fold the tortillas in half serve immediately.