Chorizo is a spicy pork sausage common in Mexican, Caribbean, Spanish and Portuguese dishes. • In Europe, chorizo is most often found dried and cured and ready to eat. Sliced in small rounds, it is a popular tapas offering. In the United States, chorizo is commonly sold fresh and requires cooking as it does in Mexico. • The sausage has a deep red color, owing to the red chilis and paprika that give it its spice. Garlic is also a common flavoring. • To cook fresh chorizo, squeeze it from the soft casing into a hot skillet and brown it like ground beef. The rendered fat will be dark red and will impart that color to whatever else you cook with it. • In Mexico, chorizo is often served at breakfast, mixed with scrambled eggs and tucked into tortillas. This recipe for Chorizo and Scrambled Egg Breakfast Tacos is good enough for dinner, too. • Look for fresh chorizo in the same area of your grocery store that stocks fresh Italian sausage or bratwurst. Hot sausage is a suitable, though not exact, substitute for fresh chorizo.
Janet K. Keeler, Times food and travel editor
>>MODERATE
Chorizo and Scrambled Egg Breakfast Tacos
4 corn tortillas
1 cup grated extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
7 ounces fresh chorizo sausage, casing removed if necessary
4 green onions, sliced
Sour cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)
Brush large nonstick skillet with olive or vegetable oil. Arrange tortillas in a single layer in the skillet and sprinkle each with 1/4 cup grated cheese and set aside.
Whisk eggs and 2 tablespoons cilantro in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Squeeze chorizo from the casing and saute in a second nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Add green onions and saute 2 minutes. Add egg mixture and stir until very softly set, about 1 minute. Remove egg mixture from heat.
While egg is cooking, heat tortillas in skillet over high heat until beginning to crisp on the bottom, but still soft and pliable, about 1 minute. Divide egg mixture among tortillas and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro. Fold each tortilla in half. Serve with sour cream and salsa, if desired.
Serves 2.
Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit
[Last modified: Aug 26, 2008 04:30 AM]
784295
SHOW_AD
Loading comments...
Subscribe to the Times
Click here for daily delivery of the St. Petersburg Times.
News
