The evolution of tacos – Elkin Jonesville Tribune

Dawn Greenings taco ring, fresh from the oven.

Submitted photo | Dawn Greening

Most American cities do not yet have a taco truck on every corner but that does not mean that tacos, and the interesting dishes that have evolved from them, are not all around us.

Ranging from the corporate cultural appropriation of Taco Bells Americanized version to locally owned, more authentic taquerias, there is a wide range of tacos to be had around town, and around the country.

So where did tacos come from in the first place? Smithsonian Magazine reports that Jeffrey M. Pilcher, professor of history at the University of Minnesota, has spent 20 years tracking down the answer to that question.

Pilcher feels that tacos were invented by silver miners in Mexico in the 18th century. Taco was the word the miners used to describe the charges they used to blast through rocks in the mines, little pieces of paper wrapped around a bit of gunpowder. Which is a fairly apt description of a taco, a little tortilla wrapped around some fiery filling. By the end of the 19th century, dictionaries included the phrase tacos de minero or miners tacos. Shortly thereafter, Mexican immigrants popularized tacos in the American Southwest and the last piece of the puzzle fell into place when Glen Bell appropriated them, adapted them to Anglo tastes and applied a franchise business model, thereby creating Taco Bell and making tacos accessible and available to Americans all over the country.

And now home cooks have gotten in on the action and adopted tacos in all kinds of ways.

Tacos lend themselves easily to adaptation. Form the tortillas into a bowl shape and youve got a taco bowl. Crumble the tortilla into bite-size pieces and serve on a plate for a taco salad. Add some liquid for taco soup. Then things get really exciting when tacos meet lasagna. Turns out that combining those two favorites can lead in some interesting directions as the following recipes show.

Taco Ring

Recipe from Dawn Greening

Really good, fast, fun dinner. Serves 16 or 8 really hungry people. To half recipe, just cut ground beef to 1/2 pound and 1 package crescent rolls.

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Chop 1/2 onion and cook with your ground beef. Season to taste with:

Salt

Pepper

Ground Cumin

Garlic

2 packages crescent rolls (16)

Lay your crescent rolls with bottoms overlapping to look like a sun. Drain ground beef, add cheddar cheese and mix well. Spoon the beef/cheese mixture around the bottom of the circle. Fold your points over the mixture, tucking at the bottom. Bake your taco ring at 350F. for 30 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes.

You can add garnishes, we used chopped onion, lettuce, tomato, cilantro, black olives and sour cream.

Taco Salad for a Large Crowd

1-1/2 pounds ground beef

2 envelopes taco seasoning, divided

1 medium head iceberg lettuce

1 package (12-1/2 ounces) nacho tortilla chips, coarsely crushed

2 pints grape tomatoes, halved

2 cans (16 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

3 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1 large sweet onion, chopped

2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies

1-1/2 cups Thousand Island salad dressing

1-1/3 cups salsa

1/3 cup sugar

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef with 1 envelope plus 2 tablespoons taco seasoning until no longer pink; drain.

In a very large serving bowl, combine the lettuce, chips, tomatoes, beans, olives, cheese, onion, chilies and beef mixture.

In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing, salsa, sugar and remaining taco seasoning; pour over salad and toss to coat. Yield: 26 servings (1-1/3 cups each).

Taco Bowls

Make your own taco bowls using the underside of a muffin tin and corn tortillas.

8 6-inch corn tortillas

Canola oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 F. Heat tortillas until warm (see below). Coat each side of 4 tortillas with cooking spray. (Keep the remaining 4 tortillas covered.) Turn a 12-cup muffin tin upside down. Nestle a tortilla in the space between 4 cups to form a bowl. Repeat with 3 more tortillas, making 4 bowls total. Bake until firm and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining 4 tortillas.

Warming tortillas prevents them from cracking and breaking. Here are three ways to warm your tortillas:

1 In the oven: Wrap stacks of 8 tortillas in foil; place in a 375F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

2 On the stove: Turn a gas or electric burner on high. Using tongs, slide one tortilla at a time over the burner for a few seconds, alternating sides, until its softened and beginning to char. Cover tortillas to keep warm.

3 In the microwave: Wrap a stack of 8 tortillas in a barely damp, clean kitchen towel (or paper towel); microwave on High for 30 to 45 seconds.

Chicken Taco Bowls (for two)

4 taco bowls, see recipe above

6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Chicken breast boneless, skinless, 1 lb.

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. canola oil

1/2 cup prepared green salsa

1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup thinly sliced lettuce

1 small tomato, chopped

1 tbsp. sliced ripe black olives

Prepare taco bowls, according to previous recipe. Meanwhile, toss chicken with garlic powder and salt in a bowl. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until it is no longer pink on the outside, about 3 minutes. Add salsa and cook, stirring frequently, until the salsa is bubbling and the chicken is no longer pink in the middle, about 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat; cover to keep warm. Fill each tortilla bowl with about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture. Top with 1 tablespoon each cheese and sour cream, 2 tablespoons each lettuce and tomato and a few olives.

Taco Lettuce Wraps

8 small iceberg or romaine lettuce leaves or 4 large, cut in half crosswise

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons prepared salsa

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 cup diced avocado

1 cup julienned jcama(see below)

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

Wash and dry lettuce leaves well and cut out any tough ribs. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, season with salt and cook, stirring often, until cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk salsa, vinegar and cumin in a small bowl. Remove the pan from the heat, add the salsa mixture and stir to combine. Serve in the lettuce leaves, topped with avocado, jicama and onion.

Jcama is a round root vegetable with thin brown skin and white crunchy flesh. It has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor. To peel it, use a small, sharp knife or vegetable peeler, making sure to remove both the papery brown skin and the layer of fibrous flesh just underneath.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

2 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

2 packets Ranch dressing mix

2 packets taco seasoning

1 32 oz. box chicken broth

14.5 oz. can tomato sauce

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with chiles

14.5 oz can black beans

1 can corn

For garnish:

Tortilla chips

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese

Saut onions for 2 minutes. Add ground beef and brown the meat. Drain browned ground beef to remove excess fat. Add ground beef mixture and all other ingredients (do not drain corn or black beans) to slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours. Garnish with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Cheesy Taco Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef

1 tbsp. taco seasoning

1 box no-boil lasagna noodles or cooked lasagna noodles

3 cups salsa

2 15-oz. containers ricotta

1/4 cups sour cream

1 large egg

3 cups shredded Mexican cheese

Sliced scallions, for garnish

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The evolution of tacos - Elkin Jonesville Tribune