Adventures a la Argentinian

Creamy Dreamy Taco

 Recently, we received a shipment from Toluca Mexican Food Style Products from their home office in Baltimore, Md.

I've been experimenting lately with the Argentinian chorizo.  Based as I am in San Antonio, Texas, however, a few of my housemates tried sampling a couple of links on their own--cooking them with diced potatoes.

They gave the chorizo a "C" grade. But I didn't see how it was prepared and disagreed with the grade. I suggested that wasn't the proper test.

First, they needed to keep in mind that--as Mexican-Americans--our preconception of chorizo is northern Mexican/southwest American, which this is not. It tastes very different. And while pairing Mexican chorizo with potato is very traditional, I've no idea how Argentinians do it.

I do know that Argentinians likes to mix ground beef or pork with green olives and raisins. That is a common way for them to stuff an empanada and they're delicious.

I find that pairing South American chorizos with cooked or raw red bell pepper is best and I recommend that as an essential basic pairing. Once you have those two together, you can experiment with a lot of things.

I offered to make breakfast tacos for Valentine's Day and prepared the last link in the following manner.  I chopped one chipotle pepper (also known as morita on the East Coast), and set it aside.  I removed the casing of the chorizo link and put it in a semi-hot skillet with two slices of bacon and pressed the chorizo and bacon into the skillet, occasionally turning the three pieces over until the bacon was browned and the chorizo was fully cooked, but still in one piece.

chorizo, bacon, chipotle, poblano and red bell peppers

I pinned the chorizo and two bacon slices to an inner edge of the skillet with a fork, tipped up the skillet and poured the excess grease into an empty yogurt cup (toss it later).  I then sprinkled the chipotle flake into the skillet with a quarter cup of water and began tearing the chorizo and bacon into small bits.

Que Rico Argentinian Chorizo from Toluca

I had previously chopped red bell pepper and fresh poblano pepper.  Once the chorizo and bacon was diced up, I poured in the chopped fresh peppers with a tab of butter and stirred occasionally until the peppers were slightly blistered.

I then put in five fresh whole eggs and a quarter cup of chopped queso fresco with a few dashes of salt and stirred constantly to make sure the eggs got well stirred and fluffed.

This provided at least two tacos servings a piece for five people. The Argentinian chorizo critics changed their minds.  They very much liked these tacos.  I found them to have a creamy flavor with the bacon and peppers coming across prominently and the chorizo offering a subtle earthy note.

Argentinian Chorizo in a Dinner Recipe

Earlier in the week, I prepared a dinner with boiled yuca on the side.  This turned out very well, but I must warn that boiling yuca is a chore.  Also known as cassava or manioc, the yuca is more dense than potato and takes considerably longer to boil.

I dice the yuca into small sections and put it in a pot with a lid and keep it in shallow water; this requires repeatedly topping off the water so that the pot does not dry out. Stir it regularly; yuca when boiled becomes very viscous. It looks like it's smothered in glue (or gravy, depending on your point of view).  If you don't stir, it will stick to the bottom of the pot. Boil it for about 90 minutes and let it boil down until it is not too watery.  The yuca will keep it's shape unless you mash it; stirring won't break it down they way a potato might after that much work.

With this particular side, I added a Habanero seasoning from Desert Gardens Chile & Spice Co. when I started the boiling process.  That gave it a great taste. I often prefer yuca to potato because it holds its shape and has a natural buttery flavor.

The main entrée was put together very simply.  I cooked the chorizo first, breaking it up after I drained the excess grease. Then I added a generous portion of red bell pepper and cooked that until the pieces blistered during the stirring.

I topped the chorizo and red bell with fresh avocado chunks and queso fresco.

Buen provecho!

P.S.  Toluca products are very good quality, but their market is presently within the Northeast.  If you're anywhere south or west of Virginia, you'll have to order by mail.