potato & poblano tacos
hi friends, lovers + people probably related to me —
98 — all i’ve been interested in doing lately is going to bed by 10 and watching basketball. no i’m not in a slump. why would you ask that.
you can’t make everyone happy you’re not a taco v.2
a few months ago kiera made potato & poblano tacos inspired by the ones at taco mucho in oak park. so of course i also had to make them bc i love tacos & also oak park & also potatoes. in months that have passed i’ve made them 3 times & finally have a version that is knock your socks off delicious. (the other versions were also delicious but in the way that you keep your socks on).
ingredients
2 large russet potatoes
2 large poblanos
1 avocado
2 jalapeños
3 bunches of cilantro
1 red onion
1-2 bunches of scallions
4-5 limes
garlic
salt & pepper
canola oil
corn tortillas
mexican crema
chihuahua cheese
steps
1st so i’m going to ask you to do something ahead of time, the morning of, so not too far in advance & trust me it’s worth it, boil your potatoes in salted water till they are easily pierced with a fork, set them aside in the fridge to chill ( you can also put them in the freezer for a lil bit to speed up the process) - these need to be very cold when you’re going to fry them. The potatoes in this recipe are Smitten Kitchen’s crispy crumbled potatoes, so you know they are practically perfect. I follow her recipe for the most part, besides the measuring anything or taking the temperature of the oil - you can do either, it gets more intuitive with practice. basically you are going to crumble your cold potatoes into hot oil until they have darkened and gotten crispy (they should be all different sizes + shapes, v. rustic), let drain on a paper towel and salt them immediately.
2nd broil your poblanos in the oven till they are nice & burnished — put them in a bowl and cover with a plate to steam the skins loose, peel the skins and chop them, then mix with potatoes & a lil salt & pepper. i like to keep the oven on like 250-300 and leave the the potatoes & poblanos in there to keep warm.
3rd chop one bunch of cilantro, some red onion & some scallions — mix together with lime juice & salt. next take the lil container of mexican crema & combine in a blender with 1 avocado, 3 cloves of grated garlic, salt, pepper, the juice of a couple limes, 2 jalapeños & two bunches of cilantro. it’s going to be so so green & delicious — adjust seasoning to taste & then thin out with a lil water to your desired consistency
4th put a lil oil in a frying pan & put 1 corn tortilla down & sprinkle a little chihuahua cheese on it (not like as much cheese as you would put in a quesadilla), then put another tortilla on top, flipping so both sides get warm & melty (thank you random hinge man for this idea, hope you’re doing well). then when you have two made, pile your potatoes & poblanos, cilantro+onion+scallion+lime & artfully dollop your avocado crema. it’s going to have a nice lil cheese pull, crispy bites, tender bites, a lil heat & a lot of herby brightness. perfect for spring that still feels like winter.
particularly good things i consumed recently
the natural wine & natural dye workshop with laila textiles @ all together now - v. fun way to catch up with kaitlyn
tavern tuesday @ bungalow literally so good — order 2 pizzas so you can bring some home & have pizza for lunch the next day
florida w/ moll moll, mom & bren to visit grandma — a lot of beach walks, fajitas for lunch, publix subs & a steady diet of murder she wrote
this article about the rise of tavern style pizza — midwest elites | midwest eats
all these volleyball leagues later & i finally have a champs shirt. alexa — play we are the champions by queen
the mcnulty group chat on st. patrick’s day 🖤
currently consuming
a quiet sunday morning before i do all my things (run, grocery store, wine store, laundry, make pasta cake, watch basketball)
as always,
mk