Potato Chorizo Tacos with Avocado Salsa

This has been one of my favorite meals for years, so imagine how happy I was to discover that both the filling and the salsa freeze well.  It's an easy meal, but it's all the easier to just thaw and reheat.  It's also nice that it's inexpensive.  If you have any leftovers, the filling is absolutely delicious scrambled with some eggs for breakfast.

When I lived in Colorado, several brands of chorizo sausage was readily available at every supermarket.  Now that I live in the South, it is not so easy to find. If you also live in an area where it is not commonly found, don't give up hope.  I eventually found a local butcher shop that sells chorizo, or you can check out Mexican grocery stores.  There is a chorizo sausage that is frequently sold in grocery stores that comes in a long, thin tube.  Cacique is one such brand, but there may be others.  Do not buy the long, thin tube chorizo sausage.  It's not very good



From: Rick Bayless
Difficulty: Easy
Category: Heat and Eat
Recipe Column: AH

Makes 12 tacos

Filling:
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, diced
1 lb chorizo sausage - read about finding Chorizo above.
1 onion, diced

Avocado Salsa:
3 - 4 tomatillos, stem and husk removed and cut into large chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 jalepeno, depending on desired spice level, stem and seeds removed
1 avocado

To make filling:

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender.  Drain well.
2. In a large frying pan or Dutch oven, cook the sausage and onions over medium-high heat. Stirring regularly and breaking up chunks.
3. Once the sausage is cooked, add the cooked potatoes and cook together for a few minutes.
4. Mash the potatoes and sausage together with a potato masher.  It should still be really chunky, not like mashed potatoes.  You just want to break the potatoes up some. 
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make salsa:

1. Add all the salsa ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth,  
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To freeze:

Once the filling has cooled, divide into the desired number of containers or bags and freeze.  Divide the salsa into an equal number of containers or bags and freeze separately. 

To serve:

Thaw the filling and salsa overnight in the refrigerator.  Heat the filling in a frying pan over medium-high heat, allowing the filling to develop some crispy bits.  Heat up to 12 corn tortillas by pouring 3 tablespoons of water onto a clean kitchen towel.  Squeeze the towel to distribute the moisture.  It's okay if there are some dry patches.  Wrap the towel around the tortillas and place on a plate or other microwave safe dish.  Cover with plastic wrap or a lid.  Microwave for 3 minutes at 50% power.  Fill the tortillas with the potato filling and spoon the salsa over them.