Smoky “Chorizo” Tacos
with Caramelized Onions and Peppers
Our guest chef this week is Gena Hamshaw, the culinary mind behind The Full Helping blog and author of Food52 Vegan and Choosing Raw. She’s razor-focused on nutrition, so we’re beyond excited to offer her tasty and protein-packed “ chorizo” taco dish as our very first installment of the Summer Guest Chef Series. Chorizo is known for its intense smokiness, and this tempeh copycat gets similar flavor from the same spice, smoked paprika. Keep your eye on the caramelizing onions and peppers—you want them browned and sweet, so keep the heat around medium.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound potatoes
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 limes
- Fresh cilantro
- 1 onion
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 packages tempeh
- 8 corn tortillas
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil*
- Salt and pepper*
- *not included
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 300ºF. Rinse and dry the potatoes, bell peppers, limes, and cilantro. Peel the potatoes and chop them into 1/2-inch cubes. Put them in a large pot and cover with 1 inch water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes; drain into a colander. Trim and slice the bell peppers and onion. Halve the limes and juice them into a bowl.
Add the soy sauce to the bowl along with the cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and oregano and whisk together to combine. Cut the tempeh into 1/2-inch cubes and add them to the bowl; toss to coat with the marinade.
Wrap the tortillas in foil and put them the oven to warm until you’re ready to eat.
Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently until the onions are softened, 6 or 8 minutes; transfer the peppers and onions to a plate and return the pan to the heat.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Add the tempeh (reserving the marinade) and potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until they’re browned in places, about 6 minutes. Add the marinade, stir, and remove the pan from the heat.
Trim the toughest stems from the cilantro and chop the leaves. To serve, divide the onion and pepper mixture among the tortillas, top with some of the potato and tempeh mixture, and sprinkle with the cilantro.