So a new taqueria opened in my neighborhood — Escuela, which means ‘School’ — at Beverly and Stanley, and it is good. So good — so simple and real, $6 for two tacos, made with love, cash only — that it set me to cooking. i had a few people over last weekend, and I wanted a savory, fast hot app perfect for a summer day — easy to serve, easy to handle indoor or out, but not too fatty or insane. Thus, I recreated one of Escuela’s dishes, but taking the red meat out. 

(Mid-Cooking Process, Above)

SHRIMP AND TURKEY CHORIZO TACOS: Serves 7 as an appetizer, 3-4 as a main

1/3 onion, minced

1 pckg Turkey Chorizo (16 oz) 

1 pound 20-26 Shrimp, uncooked

Finely chopped cilantro

16-20 Corn Tortillas (if you double-ply, less if you don’t) 

1) Place Corn tortillas in tea towel in shallow dish; place in microwave and set for 2 mins at 70%. 

2) Heat wide skillet. Add Onions. Stir for 2 mins. Add Chorizo. Stir until broken up, losing rawness and browning. 

3) Add shrimp. Cook briefly and briskly until translucent flesh becomes opaque. The savory spiced flavors of the chorizo should suffuse the shrimp.

4) Turn on Microwave. While tortillas warm enough to be flexible, toss shrimp-chorizo-onion mix with half cilantro. Serve. 

(If you want to be sure the shrimp brown — which is tasty — remove the Chorizo from the pan and briefly heat on high to e vaporate water from pan (A pan with water, or anything wet in it, will never get above 212 f until the water is gone — science. And 212 F is too low a temperature to create the browning Malliard reaction — NOT carmelization, as is believed — that makes dry-grilled and seared proteins so lovely. Then just add the chorizo back for a warm-up.)

Now, the original of this uses Pork Chorizo, which, as fat equals flavor, is awesome, But these were pretty tasty and marginally less immediately unhealthy. (You could also do it with Soy-Rizo, bluntly, for pescatarian friends and to make things even healthier). And I’m not gonna say ‘serve with lime wedges’ or ‘with jalapeno-flavored creme fraiche’ or ‘with teaspoon of guacamole’ — all of which would be lovely — but when I made these and served them and ate them, they had five ingredients, they looked and tasted like what they were, and they were good. And as my friend Rachel would quote ‘Pippin’ to say, ‘Simple joys got a simple voice.’

Every culture in human civilization has a flatbread you put protein on, 

James.