The Farmplate Blog

from the FarmPlate Kitchen

Assemble this taco using your tortilla of choice—heated, of course. Spread a tablespoon of chipotle sour cream on the inside and top with sliced lamb chorizo. Serve with shredded aged cheddar, apple cabbage slaw and a drizzle of salsa.

For the Chipotle Sour Cream:

1      tablespoon chipotle purée
1      cup Cabot sour cream (whole fat)
1      tablespoon white vinegar
1      pinch kosher salt

To make chipotle purée, take canned chipotle (smoked jalapenos in adobo) and purée them in a food processor. They will keep in your fridge for weeks afterward. Mix all the ingredients together—they will add a great smoky flavor to your sour cream.

For the Apple Cabbage Slaw:

1      tablespoon maple syrup
3      tablespoon cider vinegar
1      tablespoon olive oil
¹/₄    teaspoon kosher salt
2      grinds fresh black pepper
1      apple, julienned
2      cups loosely packed cabbage
¹/₄    cup loosely packed julienne onion

In a mixing bowl, add the maple syrup, cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix until salt dissolves in the vinegar and you’ve made a loose vinaigrette.

Add the apple, cabbage and onion. Toss thoroughly, using your fingers to evenly coat the cabbage and apple mix. It may seem a little dry, but as it sits the salt will pull moisture from the cabbage.

Let this sit for 30 minutes before serving, tossing every 10 minutes.

For the Lamb Chorizo (try Winding Brook's lamb):

If you’ve never swung by Art Mead’s place on Route 100 north of Stowe, you need to. Art is an agricultural encyclopedia with a finger on the pulse of all the issues. He also has freezers full of beef, lamb, chicken, pork, and the infamous bacon sausage.

1      pound Winding Brook Farm lamb chorizo

Turn on the grill to medium heat. Cook the lamb about 10 minutes until just about done. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. This keeps the juice in the sausage casing and that means more yummy tastes in your mouth.

For Jose's Quick Salsa:

In Austin, Texas, I spent every morning at work with José Mondragon. His simple salsa was the cat’s pajamas. It’s an easy puréed charred salsa but works beautifully on everything.

4      vine-ripened tomatoes
2      fresh chili peppers (2 varieties)
2      cloves fresh, peeled garlic
¹/₂    Spanish onion
¹/₂    bunch washed cilantro
¹/₂    teaspoon kosher salt
2      grinds fresh black pepper
Juice of 2 limes

Turn on your kitchen fan and open a window. Place a large cast-iron pan on high heat until it starts to smoke. Quarter the onions and add to the pan with a little oil, the tomatoes, the chili peppers and the peeled garlic.

Cook everything until the skin of the tomatoes and chilies are charred. Remove them from the heat and place in a blender. Add the lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper and pulse to a desired consistency.

Chill overnight. Depending on the size and ripeness of the tomatoes, you may need to add a little more salt the next day.