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Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com

Chorizo Verde Tacos

Everybody knows chorizo rojo, the rusty red seasoned ground pork made with dried chiles and spices, but in central Mexico — specifically Estado de México — chorizo goes green. Chorizo verde has a lively freshness, thanks to green chiles and handfuls of fresh herbs. This recipe takes inspiration from that chorizo but swaps in beef for the traditional ground pork and skips the sausage casing to create a filling for tacos. The meat is seasoned with cumin and coriander, then browned until crispy and braised briefly in a bold salsa of roasted poblano chiles, herbs and spinach for that vivid green hue. A splash of cider vinegar adds a tangy zip, but the real star is the pepitas — they deliver a surprising, nutty crunch. Instead of tacos, you can also stir the beef filling into crispy potatoes for classic chorizo con papas or tuck it into quesadillas.

Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com

Yield:
4 servings
Prep:
0 hr 10 min
Cook:
0 hr 35 min
Total:
0 hr 45 min
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Ingredients

  1. 1 pound ground beef
  2. ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
  3. ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
  4. ½ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican, crushed
  5. ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  6. Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  7. 3 medium garlic cloves (unpeeled)
  8. 1 serrano chile
  9. 1 poblano chile
  10. 1 cup tightly packed spinach leaves (2 ounces)
  11. ½ cup parsley leaves and tender stems
  12. ¼ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems
  13. ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  14. 2 teaspoons avocado or vegetable oil
  15. ⅓ cup toasted pepitas
  16. 8 tortillas, warmed
  17. Desired toppings, such as sour cream, avocado, lime wedges, pickled jalapeños and salsa, for serving

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, coriander, cumin, oregano, black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Use a fork or your hands to mix evenly and set aside.
  2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high. When the skillet starts to smoke, add garlic, serrano and poblano and cook, turning every few minutes, until blistered on all sides, 10 minutes. Turn off heat (reserve skillet), and transfer garlic and chiles to a small bowl. Cover with a plate and let steam to loosen the skins, 5 minutes. Uncover and let stand until cool to the touch. Discard stems and seeds from the chiles, the charred skin from the poblano, and the peel from the garlic.
  3. Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender. Add the spinach, parsley, cilantro, vinegar, ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ cup water; puree on high until smooth.
  4. Heat oil in the reserved skillet over medium-high. Add the seasoned beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spatula and stirring often, until browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes (there will be a bit of fat in the skillet; keep it to give the chorizo its richness). Remove skillet from the heat and let stand to cool a bit, 2 minutes.
  5. Carefully pour the green salsa all over the beef and stir until evenly coated. Return the skillet to medium-low heat and cook until the meat has absorbed most of the salsa, 3 to 5 minutes. (At this point, the beef mixture can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
  6. Stir the pepitas into the beef mixture until evenly combined. Serve right away with tortillas and desired toppings.