Tacos

Spiced Beef Fajita Tacos with Avocado Cream and Restaurant Style Salsa

May 3, 2017 by The Partial Ingredients

For Cinco de Mayo I wanted to showcase one of my favorite “food truck” style taco recipes. As you can probably tell by my post history I am a big fan of tacos. I wanted to incorporate my favorite part about fajitas–the seasoned peppers and onions–into a taco recipe. The beef is seasoned with a medley of spices that complements the bell peppers and caramelized onions. The salsa is a simple “restaurant style” recipe made with oven roasted tomatoes and blended with chilies, garlic and jalapenos. It also happens to be excellent with chips so have some of those handy for an appetizer! One of my latest favorite taco toppings has been avocado cream which sounds fancier than it is. While avocados are always perfect on their own, I sometimes like to mix them up a bit. All you need is a ripe, well mashed avocado, sour cream and lime juice. Mix together and there you have it–super easy! Top this one with plenty of the salsa and lime juice. I used a finely shredded sharp cheddar to garnish but a crumbly queso fresco or white cheddar would be excellent as well.

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Classic Beef Tacos with Chipotle Tomato Salsa

November 9, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Even though it isn’t summer anymore it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good taco! If you’re craving food truck style tacos this is the recipe you need to make it at home. Seasoned ground beef comes together with smoky chipotle salsa, sharp cheddar and slices of avocado. The beef is seasoned in a simple combination of garlic, jalapenos, paprika and cumin. Finish it off with fresh lime juice and cilantro and you have one flavorful taco (or 10)!
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Roasted Chicken Tacos with Chipotle Salsa and Oaxaca Cheese

April 20, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Tacos are one of my favorite foods and I’m always looking for different combinations to try out! This recipe combines tender, shredded chicken with a smokey Chipotle salsa and melty Oaxaca cheese. I roasted the chicken in the oven with fragrant spices, garlic and honey. The nice thing about roasting the chicken is that it produces plenty of juice in the pan to incorporate back into the meat once it has been shredded. This results in the juiciest, most tender meat for the tacos. The Oaxaca cheese melted easily over the tacos and had a mild flavor that complimented the other ingredients. The salsa can be made up to two days beforehand to save time on preparation.

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Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Tacos

January 2, 2014 by The Partial Ingredients

Once I had a batch of Pickled Corn Salsa ready I took a nice pork shoulder and slow cooked it for some tasty tacos! The pork is marinated in tomatoes, onions and spices and slow cooked for about 4 hours in a crock pot. The pork ended up being succulent and fall apart tender. I was really happy with how soft and flavorful it turned out. The acids from the pickled salsa complimented the richness of the shredded pork. For garnish, I added a touch of lime and queso fresco.

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Korean BBQ Chicken Tacos with Coleslaw and Sriracha Sour Cream

July 27, 2013 by The Partial Ingredients

What draws me to taco recipes is the symphony of flavors from the meats, condiments and sauces. I have never eaten Korean tacos from a food truck but I would hope that they might be like something like this: barbeque style chicken with crunchy coleslaw and spicy sour cream.

These tacos kick everything up a notch in terms of flavor and texture. The chicken is marinated ‘Dak Bulgogi‘ style with a sweet and savory sauce, grilled until caramelized. The coleslaw is a play on American coleslaw, using Napa cabbage (as used in Kimchi) with fish sauce, green onion, sriracha, and mirin. As the chicken is marinating in the sauce, prep the coleslaw and sriracha sour cream and leave it to chill. That way you’ll have everything you’ll need to assemble the tacos after grilling the chicken. The best way to make tacos is just having everything done so that you can time your dinner perfectly and not be scrambling at the last minute! I loved these tacos and will definitely make them again soon.

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Moroccan Chicken Tacos With Harissa Salsa and Goat Cheese

June 1, 2013 by The Partial Ingredients

One of the great things about tacos is the endless possibilities that comes with them! I’ve always loved Moroccan food and I thought that tacos would be a great way to experience it again. The chicken is seasoned with a fragrant blend of spices and shreds easily with a fork. I always choose whole chickens for taco meat as I’ve noticed they come out perfectly tender every time. I chose a spicy salsa based on the flavors of traditional Moroccan Harissa paste. It gave the tacos a good amount of spiciness and flavor. Since preserved lemon is an important ingredient in Moroccan food I topped the tacos with a refreshing Preserved Lemon and Mint Salsa. To cool things down I garnished the tacos with creamy goat cheese.

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Roasted Chicken Tacos with Manchego Cheese and Avocado

March 31, 2013 by The Partial Ingredients

Roasted a whole chicken is a perfect meat for tacos because it is tender, flavorful and easy to shred. I chose a basic spice blend of smoked paprika, cumin, garlic and oregano for the chicken. Then I baked it in the oven for a few hours which gave me enough time to make some fresh Pico de Gallo and shredded manchego cheese. Manchego is a great cheese for tacos because it has the creaminess of queso fresco but with a little more tartness. The tacos turned out really well! The smoky flavor of the chicken worked nicely with the manchego and creamy avocado. The recipe for the chicken is pretty versatile so I’m sure I’ll be experimenting with different salsas and condiments next time!

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Chipotle-Lime Roasted Chicken Tacos

September 16, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Once I had my Corn Esquites Salad ready I decided to try it out in tacos. I settled on using a whole oven roasted chicken because the meat is tender and shreds easily so its perfect for tacos. I was thinking about which spices I wanted to use to season the chicken and I thought chipotle and lime would work well with the corn salad. I settled on a simple dry rub of chipotle pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, allspice and oregano. While the chicken was roasting the kitchen started to smell heavenly and I couldn’t wait to try them out! The tacos were really tasty and easy to put together. The smoky flavor of the chipotle and the tangy lime juice were a great combination. The recipe makes 12 tacos, or enough for two people for two dinners (3 tacos each).
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Korean Kalbi Beef Tacos with Cilantro Lime Salsa

August 9, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Since Korean food works great with Tex-mex I wanted to try Korean-style tacos again! Usually “kalbi” refers to Korean BBQ short ribs but I really wanted to try the kalbi marinade on skirt steak since it’s a great meat for tacos. The marinade consists of ginger, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and asian pears so it was really easy to throw together. If you can’t find asian pears I think it would be alright to substitute in regular pears. I marinated the steak for about an hour before grilling. I used a flat pan to saute the beef at a high temperature, but I’m sure grilling the beef would be a great way to get extra flavor. The tacos were really tasty! I loved the sear on the beef along with the flavors of the kalbi marinade. I really enjoyed the sweet and savory kalbi beef with the tangy sesame soy dressing. I topped the tacos with chopped tomatoes, a cilantro lime salsa and sesame soy sauce dressing.

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Achiote Black Bean Tacos with Grilled Avocado and Goat Cheese

July 13, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Who knew you could grill avocados? I had no idea until I read the recipe for these tacos. I loved the idea of tangy goat cheese coupled with the avocado slices and honey lime dressing. It sounded like the perfect quick summer meal so I knew I had to give it a try! I thought a good spice blend of black beans seasoned with achiote seed, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika would be a great addition to these tacos. The avocados had a slightly different flavor after grilling that was unique and hard to describe. I guess the flavor became a little more smokey with a stronger avocado smell. The tacos were really good! I especially liked the simple honey lime dressing to give the filling some brightness.

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