Chorizo & Potato Soft Tacos with a Simple Homemade Salsa ...and Photograph Talk

You know what bothers me about this picture above?

That the corner of the white square plate with the tortillas is almost touching the wooden board rather than completely running parallel to the board and the grains of the wood.  My eye focuses on that particular spot in the photo and I find it distracting. Weird? Maybe.  WAIT. WAIT. Look again!  Now it's driving you crazy too! Right?!

Anyway... it makes me realize how when you're standing (or in this case sitting/crouching) behind a lens you don't necessarily notice such minor imperfections.  That's not to say all photos need to be in complete balance...how boring would that be?!  It's just in the photo above with such pronounced geometric shapes and lines...that one crooked plate throws my entire picture off.  Just my honest, overly self-critical, non-expert opinion.  (I decided to soften the boarder of the photo above in an attempt to draw your eyes out...not sure I was successful ...but I'm practicing...)



So let's talk food...don't allow the long instructions to preparing this meal throw you off ~ it's a simple mid-week dinner idea that with just a little prep work ~ comes together in a flash!

Chorizo and Potato Soft Tacos with a Simple Homemade Salsa

Preheat oven to 400.

PREP WORK AND WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
A few flour or corn tortillas ~ about 6-8
Sour Cream
Tabasco Sauce (here I used Chipotle infused Tabasco)
Peel one large Idaho potato and cut in into small cubes, set aside
Peel than dice one large onion, set aside
De-seed and dice one very large, ripe tomato (or 2-4 smaller ones)
Chop a small handful on cilantro (about 3T)
Take 2-3 links of Mexican Chorizo Sausage and remove it from its casing
Tortilla Chips

Instructions:

Place your diced tomatoes in a bowl, add the cilantro and a hefty few shakes of Chipotle flavored Tabasco Sauce (I pureed mine in a mini food processor as I wanted a smooth consistency but it's personal preference) Salt and Pepper to taste. Simple salsa done! Set aside.

In a cast iron skillet, cook up the chorizo breaking it up into small pieces with a spatula. When completely cooked through, remove the chorizo from the pan and set aside.

Add your diced onion to the same pan and saute up your onion until soft and translucent (about 6-7 minutes). Remove onion from the pan (you can add it to the chorizo) and set it aside.

Add your diced potatoes to the same pan (add a tablespoon of butter to the pan only if you need to, if the pan is too dry) and cook up your potatoes until beginning to brown and get crispy. (I left my potatoes undisturbed for a few minutes and covered the skillet - this allowed for the bottom of the potatoes to crisp while also creating a steaming environment for the potatoes to almost cook through)

When the potatoes look crispy, place the entire pan in the oven and continue cooking until the potatoes are cooked entirely, crispy on the outside, soft in the center (about 5 minutes). *Be sure to wear an oven mitt when removing the cast iron pan from the oven - I know this is a no brainer but you would be amazed how many people's first instinct is to just grab the handle!!! Keep the handle covered with mitt to remind you it's HOT. 

Remove the potatoes from the pan, salt and pepper to taste and place on a serving tray.  Now reheat your chorizo and potatoes only if necessary.

In a separate pan heat up flour or corn tortillas until HOT and flexible...stuff each tortilla with chorizo, onion, potatoes, salsa and sour cream. Serve chips on the side. *Cheese, homemade guacamole and an ice cold Negra Modelo with lime would only make this better!!! ENJOY!