Sweet Potato & Longaniza Tacos {She Made/Ella Hace}

For the past couple of months I have been obsessed with sweet potatoes. Like crazy obsessed.  Normally around this time of year, I find myself cooking with apples and pumpkins...and sweet potatoes.  But so far this season apples and pumpkins have not made one single appearance in my kitchen.  It's been all sweet potatoes, all the time, with lots of yummy sweet potato treats left and right.  (Spoiler alert: you'll be seeing some of those recipes here on the blog.)  So it was no surprise that I suggested to girlichef that we feature sweet potatoes as our star ingredient this month for She Made/Ella Hace. 

Since most of the time we eat sweet potatoes it's in something sweet, I knew I wanted to create something savory, because there's just something so incredibly awesome about sweet potatoes in savory dishes.  They add a heartiness and sweetness that just takes your dish to a whole new level.

I had some homemade longaniza that we bought in Zacatecas last week just waiting to be used up.  For those of you unfamiliar with longaniza it's very similar to chorizo in flavor, but unlike chorizo that is made with ground meat, longaniza is made with finely chopped meat.

Hubby and the kiddies were a little skeptical when I told them I was making savory Sweet Potato Tacos, but I knew that once they tasted them they'd love them.  And well, these tacos helped prove that I'm rarely ever wrong.  To quote my husband, "These tacos were AWESOME!"  They're like a cross between Papas con Chorizo (potatoes w/ chorizo) and Tacos al Pastor.  In fact, I think I'm going to start calling these my Fall Tacos al Pastor, or something along those lines.  All I know is that these are quickly on their way to becoming a fall favorite.

Sweet Potato Tacos w/ Longaniza 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 lb. longaniza or chorizo
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 orange
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• Red onion, finely chopped
• Fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• Corn tortillas

Directions: 
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and saute 1 minute.  Add the longaniza and saute until almost fully cooked, about 10 minutes.  Add the sweet potatoes, cumin, and paprika and cook for 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.  Squeeze the juice of one orange over the sweet potato and longaniza filling.  Cover skillet and reduce heat to low.  Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are tender and the orange juice has evaporated.

Spoon filling onto warm corn tortillas.  Garnish with chopped red onion and cilantro.  Top with your favorite salsa.  Enjoy!!! 

Now be sure to visit girlichef's blog to check out her Coconut Sweet Potato Pie w/ Spiced Graham Cracker Crust.

Tweet