Ingredients:

2 lb lean ground turkey
1 T olive oil
1 T plus 1 t chili powder blend
1 t cumin powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t dried Mexican oregano
2 T fresh or canned hatch chile peppers, chopped
3/4 cup salsa, hot, medium, or mild
flour tortillas, large size

Toppings: shredded cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, avocados, jalapenos, and more salsa

Spoon Mage™ Note:

A Sancho is a bit of seasoned meat with a lot of salad fixings on top all wrapped up in a flour tortilla. A restaurant near us in Midland called them that and so will I. Ground beef is the original way to make a Sancho. My family prefers turkey, you make it your way.

If you cook southwestern, you likely have a favorite chili powder, mine is Gebhardt. Use your fave or make up a batch yourself. For more about chiles and chili powder, click here and here.

Mexican oregano does taste different than Mediterranean oregano. It is readily available in the prepared spice aisle of your local grocery. If you cannot find it, ask if they will get it for you. McCormick makes a fine Mexican oregano.

Canned Hatch chile peppers are a wonderfully convenient thing. They come inside a little yellow can found near the salsa aisle in your store. Choose mild or hot.

Should it happen to be Hatch season and you have access to fresh roasted hatch peppers, use one of them instead of canned chiles.

Directions:

Set a pot over medium heat and sauté the ground turkey in the olive oil until the meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.

Add the chili powder, cumin, onion, and garlic. Stir for 1 minute.

Add the Hatch chile peppers and half a cup of the salsa. Bring to a simmer.

The meat needs to be moist, but not liquid enough to spread. If it needs a bit more salsa to keep it from being dry, add a little. Some salsas are thin, others very thick and chunky. Depending upon the consistency of yours, you may need an extra 1/4 cup (add a tablespoon at a time), but don’t go overboard or you will need a spoon to eat it.

Simmer for 10 minutes, stir every now and then. Taste and adjust the flavors to suit you.

Serve at the table as you would a taco bar – set out tortillas and toppings for everyone to make their own.

A traditional sancho would have seasoned beef or turkey, a light touch of shredded cheddar or mixed Mexican cheese, a goodly dose of chopped onions, chopped tomato, slices of jalapenos (pickled or not), lots of crispy lettuce, and salsa. But, you make it your way. Though it’s not traditional, they are delicious with avocado or guacamole. Keep it simple and fast.

To eat, fold in half as you would a taco or, on a larger tortilla, fold and roll as you would a burrito – fold up a bit of the bottom end of the tortilla and roll the rest of the tortilla from the sides. Then pick it up and eat it from one end to the other. If you plan to fold the tortilla, go light on the fillings, or use very large tortillas so you have several inches of tortilla all around the filling.

Enjoy!