Easy Eats: Sam's Slap Sausage Tacos

‘Slap’ in the title of this very family-friendly recipe refers to the cooking method. After spreading a quick mix of sausage and seasonings across the face of four tortillas, you’ll then ‘slap’ them into a hot pan. The result – a delicious taco with a crisp meat filling all the way to the edges. My two-year-old loves these and I do too, not least because you can get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.

A special shout-out to the quick corn cooking hack below. Microwaves are sometimes as necessary as coffee mid-week and who am I to stand in the way of cooking smart not hard?

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

For the tacos:

500g good quality fresh sausages (I used Italian pork and fennel)

1 tsp each smoked paprika, ground cumin and dried oregano

A handful of coriander, finely chopped

4 medium size tortillas or any kind of flatbread

¼ cup (60ml) olive oil

A small chunk of red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Sour cream or Greek-style yoghurt and baby herbs or sliced lettuce, to serve

For the salsa:

1 corn cob (can sub with frozen kernels)

1 small red onion or spring onion, finely chopped

3 baby radishes, finely chopped

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered

Juice of ½ a lemon

 

Prepare the tacos first: Push the sausage meat out of the casings into a bowl, discard the casings. Add spices and some of the coriander and mix well to combine. Divide between four tortillas and use the back of a fork or spoon to spread evenly across to the edges to cover the tortilla.

Next, make the salsa: Take the corn cob and use a sharp knife to chop the non-hairy end of the corn’s base off roughly 3cm from the end. Run under a tap, then microwave for 3 minutes or until corn is cooked through. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly, then squeeze the green sleeve of the corn and it should come away easily. Run a knife down the side to remove the kernels. Add to a bowl with remaining salsa ingredients along with the remaining chopped coriander and season to taste.

Thinly slice cabbage and toss with vinegar.

Heat a non-stick or cast iron frypan over high heat. ‘Slap’ down the flatbreads onto the pan, meat-side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned and just cooked through. Flip and scatter with extra paprika and 1 Tbsp oil. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes. or until charred and cooked through. Set aside and repeat with the remaining tacos.

When all the tacos are cooked, transfer each to a plate and spoon over yoghurt, salsa, cabbage and baby herbs. Serve immediately.

 

Sam Parish is a Christchurch-based chef, writer and food stylist. Her food philosophy is ‘maximum of flavour, minimum of fuss’ (MOFMOF), which means she’s all about cooking smarter, not harder. She’ll be sharing delicious, fast, family-friendly food ideas every Wednesday (after road-testing them on her own whānau, of course). Sam’s first book, Cook Me is out now.