At the hot Brooklyn restaurant Colonia Verde, the popular tacos are stuffed with duck confit, but chef de cuisine Carolina Santos-Neves has a fresh idea for making equally delicious and much easier tacos — instead of using duck, stuff them with leftover turkey from your holiday feast! And while Colonia Verde's duck tacos are topped with fried yuca chips, Santos-Neves says you can get the same great crunch from crumbled tortilla chips. Add easy pickled onions, avocado and a quick chimichurri sauce and you've got a taco so delicious you might find yourself roasting an extra turkey just for the leftovers.
So set that sandwich bread aside, grab some tortillas, watch the demo video and whip up these out-of-sight turkey tacos.
Turkey tacos with chimichurri and pickled onions
Makes: 8 tacos
For the tacos:
- 1 pound cooked turkey, sliced
- 8 flour tortillas
- 3/4 cup turkey or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup chihuahua or cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled tortilla chips
For the pickled onions:
- 1 red onion, halved and sliced
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons pink peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds or powder
For the chimichurri (makes 2 cups):
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 shallots, minced
- Salt
- 2 cups olive oil
- 1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
- 1/3 bunch flat leaf parsley, stems removed
Make the pickled onions: In a saute pan heat up water and vinegar until softly boiling. Then add sugar, salt and spices. Add the sliced onions and remove from heat. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled (store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days).
Make the chimichurri: In a large mixing bowl, place cilantro and parsley, fill with cold water and let stand for 5-10 minutes. Remove from water and chop finely.
Over low heat in a medium saute pan, add olive oil and let heat for about a minute, then add minced garlic and let toast (but now brown) for about 30 seconds. Then add minced shallots and let cook for a bit longer. Add salt to taste.
Add chopped parsley and cilantro and stir to combine. Turn off heat and let cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl.
Make the tacos: Prepare the turkey filling: Slice turkey into bite-size pieces. Heat a saute pan over low-medium heat, and add turkey stock, then sliced turkey. When liquid is reduced by about half, add shredded cheese and stir until cheese is melted, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
Heat tortillas in a dry saute pan until slightly browned on each side, about 2-3 minutes total.
Make the tacos: Top each tortilla with turkey and cheese mixture, sliced avocado, pickled onions, cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips. Roll tacos up.
Serve tacos with chimichurri on the side.