The first time I made these tacos, I think I had some ground pork in the freezer, and I’d recently discovered the pleasure of making my own Italian Sausage. The tacos sounded really different- and crazy easy- and we were really surprised when we discovered how delicious they are! Yesterday I was sitting in the parking lot of my grocery store looking for a recipe on Pepperplate for lasagna. I wanted to use the meat sauce from the lasagna for stuffed shells, but while I was looking, this recipe jumped out and me and I knew I had to make it.
It really is incredibly easy- even if you make your own sausage first. The two sausage links called for in the recipe? Certainly not enough for a family of four. I make a full pound of sausage, use a small onion, and then top these bad boys with feta cheese, cilantro, and homemade salsa. I serve them with a choice of flour or corn tortillas, but it wasn’t until today’s lunch leftover that I took the suggestion of toasting the corn tortilla. Oh. My. Goodness. Did that make all the difference in the world! The corn tortilla held up beautifully once it was charred on the burner instead of crumbling into mush at first bite. Do take the trouble to char up some corn tortillas. I use the burner on my gas stove, but you could also broil them or use a grill to get them nice and toasty.
Oh, and the 2 tablesoons oil? I just use a tiny drizzle to keep the sausage from initially sticking to the pan. There’s enough fat in sausage, you don’t need any more than that. I also don’t use hot sausage at this time so that the whole family can enjoy it. The original recipe is from Bon Appetit Fresh Every Day.
Soft Tacos with Sausage and Feta
2 tablespoons olive oil2 hot Italian sausages (about 6 1/2 ounces), casings removed
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/3 cups sliced romaine lettuce
Purchased red or green salsa
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until brown, coarsely crumbling with back of spoon, about 4 minutes. Push sausage to side of skillet. Add onion and cumin to skillet; sauté until onion is golden and sausage is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir to combine.
Char tortillas over gas flame or electric burner until blackened in spots, turning with tongs. Wrap in foil; let stand 2 minutes. Fill each tortilla with sausage mixture, 1 generous tablespoon feta, 2 tablespoons cilantro, and 1/3 cup lettuce. Serve with salsa.
To heat and char tortillas:
Place a tortilla directly on a gas or electric burner set on high. Using tongs, flip tortilla after it begins to brown, about 10 seconds per side. Wrap tortilla in foil to keep warm, and repeat with remaining tortillas.