Here’s the recipe for my sweet potato tacos from the Vegan brunch pop-up of a couple weeks ago. The recipe has all my favourite food qualities: spicy chili pepper on the soft but almost crunchy roasted sweet potatoes, crunch from cabbage, sweetness and acid from the pickled shallots, and creamy savouriness from the poblano sauce. In my mind, it’s vegetarian perfection. And if you don’t like heat, leave the chili pepper out of the roasted sweet potatoes. And if you do like heat, add some chili sauce, preferably one made from jalapeno or green cayenne chili peppers.
Scotch bonnet if you have a death wish.
There are a couple steps to this, but the ingredients are ideally prepped in advance so you can quickly sauté the sweet potato cubes to give that crunch, and so the onions can mellow in the white wine vinegar. For the sauce you need to soak the cashews for at least thirty minutes, so you might as well make that the day before as well.
Sweet Potato Tacos with Creamy Poblano Pepper Sauce and Sweet Pickled Shallots
Serves 4 (8-10 tacos)
For the roasted sweet potatoes:
4 cups 1/2″ sweet potato cubes (from approximately 2 large sweet potatoes, rough parts removed but skin otherwise left on)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp whole cumin
1 tbsp black cumin (or ajwain, or more regular cumin)
2 tsp whole fennel, optional
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp-1 tbsp chili powder (to taste)
1/4 cup lime juice, divided
For the sweet pickled shallots:
6 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced into half moons
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp cane sugar or other sugar
For the roasted poblano sauce:
4 poblano chili peppers (if you can’t find these mild, light green peppers, use 1 jalapeno and 3 green bell peppers)
1/2 cup cashews (or macadamia nuts)
1/2 tsp salt
1 head garlic
1 yellow onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
Everything else:
8-10 small corn tortillas
1/2 head cabbage, core removed, and sliced thinly
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions:
First, make the poblano pepper sauce. Place the poblano peppers and the onion on a baking sheet. Leave them whole. Slice off the top 1/2″ of the head of garlic (but don’t peel the rest) and coat it in a tiny bit of olive oil. Add it to the baking roast. Broil these on low, turning them every five minutes, until the peppers are charred all over (it takes a lot of rotating), about 20 minutes, and the onion and garlic are softened (20-30). They might cook at different times because of size and distance from the element. So keep setting the timer for 5 more minutes each time you check the vegetables and rotate them.
Soak the cashews in a cup of water for 30 minutes.
Once the peppers are charred, place them in a bag or bowl and cover to let them sweat. This releases they’re skin if it’s not evenly charred. If you can remove the skin right away, do that, but letting the peppers cool is better for your fingertips. After 10 minutes of sweating and cooling, you should be able to remove the skins fairly easily. If not, don’t worry about it. A little blended char and skin is no big deal if you have a good blender.
Peel the onion and squeeze the roasted garlic flesh from the flaky skin. Put it all in the blender. Drain the cashews and add to the blender with the lime juice and salt (discard the soaking liquid). Add the peeled peppers when they’re ready (discard the seeds and white membranes. Blend to a creamy texture. Add the tbsp olive oil and blend again. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water a tbsp at a time to smooth. A Vitamix of Blendtec is best for this, but any high-powered blender will do.
Scoop into a squeeze bottle if you have one, or just a container if you don’t.
Now make the pickled shallots. Bring the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour over the sliced shallots in a glass container (or anything not plastic). Seal and let cool. These will keep in the fridge for at least a month, and they’re better on day 2.
Now the sweet potatoes. Toss the cubed potatoes with the oil, spices, and 2 tbsp of the lime juice. Spread on a single layer on a large baking sheet (or two) and roast at 400F for 15 minutes. Turn the cubes and roast 10 minutes more. Taste one. If they’re no longer tough, they’re ready. If not, stir them and bake 5 minutes more. Check again and bake five more minutes if necessary. When they’re done, remove them to a large bowl and toss with the remaining two tbsp lime juice.
Let cool, and store in the fridge overnight if not using right away.
Now go to bed. Or take a nap. Or do something else.
The next day, sauté the sweet potatoes over medium-high heat in the tsp of olive oil. Place the tortillas on a clean working space and divide sweet potatoes between tortillas. Use 8 if you want heavily-stuffed tortillas and 10 if you want smaller ones. Take some pickled onions from the brine and add to the tortillas (I use chopsticks since you shouldn’t use metal with vinegar or the flavour can supposedly go off). Then sprinkle with chopped cabbage and cilantro. Then, either squeeze the sauce overtop from your squeeze bottle, or spoon it over generously. I also like to do this once the tacos are on plates to make a pretty plate garnish.
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