Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

Many people wonder how to use Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo, so here’s one idea that I use it for quite frequently. I cook up potatoes and onions and add the Soy Chorizo to it for a very tasty (vegetarian) version of the famous Mexican dish “Papa con Chorizo” (potatoes with chorizo).

Here’s my recipe . We substitute Trader Joe’s soy chorizo for real pork chorizo making this dish vegetarian. Some people may not even know that its vegetarian when they taste it. In fact, though I’m not vegetarian I like this quite a bit as its a bit healthier. I make this dish about every other week as an easy dish which is good to have on hand in the fridge as it can make a few things. This is especially good as a filling for quesadillas, tacos or burritos, it works really well with eggs too mixed into it. You can make up a whole package of the Soy Chorizo to have on hand for the week.

INGREDIENTS

Trader Joe’s SOY CHORIZO

Trader Joe’s TACO SEASONING (optional)

Potatoes (waxy potatoes are best, like Red potatoes, Yukon Gold or similar) 1 pound

Onion (medium – diced)

Fresh garlic (optional, chopped)

(optional – fresh cilantro)

I usually make this for about 2 people/portions. Adjust amounts as needed

RECIPE – Soy Chorizo with Potatoes

Boil about a pound of potatoes cut in half in lightly salted water. Cook for about 12 minutes or so or just until done, meaning when a knife goes in pretty easily.

Drain and rinse them with cold water until they are cool enough to touch. Cut the potatoes up into bite size pieces.

In a cast iron or non-stick skillet, sauté an medium size onion (diced) in about a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes (add a few cloves of fresh chopped garlic too if you like). Toss in the diced potatoes. Let potatoes and onions sauté together on medium heat until the potatoes take a little bit of color which may take about 10 minutes or so, stirring gently every 3 minutes. Sprinkle on some Taco Seasoning (optional) if you like. If you are not using it, just add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Next add your Soy Chorizo. Lower the heat. Gently mix in and combine the Soy Chorizo into the onion and potatoes. How much chorizo to use is up to you. I usually add about 1/2 the tube for about about a pound of potatoes but you can add more or less as you see fit.

Saute the mixture on low heat for about 5 minutes or so and it’s ready. If you like cilantro, sprinkle on a big handle of it, chopped up, which brightens the dish really nicely.

Optional: Eggs work great with this mixture. If you want them at the end just mix in 3 beaten eggs and let the eggs cook slowly until done. Serve immediately with warm tortillas or make quesadillas with this as your stuffing.

PAPAS CON CHORIZO is a tasty mixture which is great for tacos or burittos and my favorite, cheese quesadillas. To make those,use flour tortillas, (or corn if you like) and sprinkle some grated cheese on the tortilla in a lightly oiled pan. Top with the potato mix, fold in half and cook for a few minutes on each side until the cheese is melted. For even cheesier ones, also put a little grated cheese under the tacos and let them get golden brown and a little crusty. These are really my favorite. And if you want to use corn tortillas instead, those will also be great with this filling.

Besides tacos or tortillas, mix this potato mixture into scrambled eggs for a great dish.

Enjoy.