Sweet Potato Tacos |Cooking With Amanda

Tacos for everyone!

I love tacos. Carnitas tacos are one of my favorites. But what if you don't eat meat? You shouldn't miss out on tacos?

A few weeks ago my husband and I had some friends over for dinner. They are vegetarian and I have to eat gluten free, so at first we didn't know what to eat. I was tasked with creating a dessert (I made flourless molten chocolate lava cakes!) and our friends brought these sweet potato tacos with black beans for dinner. I also made some fruity and fresh raspberry mojitos.

It is safe to say that the sweet potato black bean vegetarian tacos that our friends brought over were a big hit. Such a big hit that I have made them several times since then for dinner.

I think what really makes these tacos special is the fire-roasted poblano pepper. A poblano pepper is milk like a bell pepper, but it has a bit more zing. When you broil or grill the pepper to "fire-roast" it before adding it to the taco filling, it adds another layer of smoky flavor to the dish.

It is really easy to fire-roast a poblano pepper. When I had a gas stovetop I would place the pepper straight on the flame of the burner. I don't have a gas stovetop anymore (I miss it soooo much!) so I used my little kitchen torch. You can also use the broiler in your oven.

The key is to get as much of the poblano pepper's skin blackened as you can. No matter which device you use to roast your pepper, turn it frequently so that it is blackened evenly all over. It smells so good while you roast it!

Immediately after you roast it, seal your poblano pepper in an airtight container (or a bowl sealed tightly with plastic-wrap.) As the poblano pepper "sweats" as it cools it makes the skin very easy to scrape off. I let it "sweat" for about 10 minutes or so, and then I just scrape the pepper with the back of my chef knife to take off most of the skin.

It takes a few extra minutes of effort to fire-roast your poblano pepper, but I think the smoky flavor it adds to these sweet potato black bean vegetarian tacos recipe is well worth it!

Looking for another fun vegetarian taco recipe? I love these cheese crisp tacos with pineapple kiwi fruit salsa.

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Sweet Potato Tacos Recipe

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Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 poblano pepper, or pasilla pepper, can substitute green bell pepper if you can't find a poblano
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4-1/2 cup vegetable broth
cotija cheese, to serve
gluten free corn tortilla, warmed to serve

Directions

First, fire-roast your poblano pepper by blackening the skin all over by holding it over a direct flame (like a gas burner on a stove top, or a kitchen torch) or by placing it under the broiler of your oven.
Turn the pepper often so that it blackens evenly.
Immediately seal it in an airtight container and let it sweat for about 10 minutes.
Scrape the skin off the pepper with the back of a knife and then dice the pepper.
While the pepper is sweating, peel and dice the sweet potatoes into 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces.
In a heavy-bottomed skillet heat the oil with the minced garlic for one minute.
Add the sweet potatoes, season with the ground cumin and chili powder, and saute for about 5 minutes. If at any time sweet potatoes start to stick to the pan add a little vegetable broth to keep things moist.
Add the diced poblano and the black beans and continue to saute until the sweet potatoes are softened.
Add another 1/4 cup of vegetable broth to de-glaze the pan.
Serve in corn tortillas and sprinkle with cotija cheese. Sour cream with a little adobo sauce (from a can of gluten free chipotle peppers.) or even chipotle mayo, if you want to limit the dairy.