As the weekend approaches my stomach begins to growl with different food cravings, especially for breakfast. Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy a beautiful spread of fresh fruit, eggs benedict, pancakes, bagels and lox, you name it. But there is nothing, I mean nothing better than good old-fashioned papas con chorizo on a Saturday morning. Mmmmmm… Waking up to the aroma of the spicy chorizo softening in a sartén puts a smile on my face every time.
I have to admit. It reminds me of home and being with my mom. As a child, I knew mom was in a good mood when she shared her love with us through Saturday morning breakfast. If she made homemade tortillas, then dang, she was in a VERY good mood. Of course, the homemade tortillas were in the early years before she got too busy coupled with arthritis in her wrists. It just hurt too much for her to knead the dough. At least that’s what she told us. I think the convenience of buying packaged flour tortillas from the local grocery store was probably more like it. Okay, I’m getting off track. Back to papas con chorizo. Below is a simple recipe I learned from my mom and quite honestly, from watching friends and family make it over the years. Enjoy this recipe this weekend or any day of the week.
- Papas con Chorizo
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (this can be omitted if you’re worried about too much fat, but let’s get real. It’s CHORIZO people!!)
- 10 ounces Mexican pork chorizo, casings removed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 small jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 1 pound red skinned new potatoes, cut into small (1/4-inch) dice, and boiled (this helps speed up the process and makes sure they don’t burn)
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking up the clumps, until softened and melted down, about 5 to10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to a paper lined plate to absorb any additional oil. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, jalapeño and boiled potatoes and saute until brown, about 12 minutes. Stir in the cooked chorizo and season with just a little salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve. Makes about 4-6 servings.
Papas con Chorizo
Mijo, i prefer my chorizo revueltos con huevos and the papas fritos on the side, but this brings me fond memories of not only Saturdays when i stayed at your house (especially your description of Cec in all her moods) but our house growing up.
Mama usually made her Sonorensia tortillas without baking powder and very thin, but on some Saturdays or Sundays she would add extra fat and a little baking powder, so they were a little thicker and richer. She would make the testales a larger and roll the tortillas about 12 inches across (she had a very big Guardianware cast aluminum griddle), and cook each one as we came into the kitchen for breakfast. She would place the tortilla on a plate (It usually hung over the edges!) and place a mound of chorizo con huevos in the center. We would tear pieces of tortillas off the edges to eat the chorizo with until there was just enough tortilla and chorizo left to wrap up and eat.
This was a plate-full of absolute love, as with a demanding husband and 7 children, this extra effort amounted to nothing less!
My friend Denise and her mama Norma make chorizo this way, using soyrizo. I was surprised how much it tasted like the real thing, orange grease included. Nothing reminds me of breakfast at home as much as chorizo & eggs & fried potatoes. I can picture dad using his tortilla to scoop up his chorizo now. Thanks for sharing your memories cousin!