My mother was born in Mexico and spent her formative years living there. And because of that, we grew up with Mexican food as part of our weekly meals — deep-fried tacos were her specialty, with ground beef, onions and pickled jalapeños. Then corn tortillas made with her iron press. They were amazing.
I took this photo on a trip to California as we were on the hunt for an authentic Mexican taco truck. We found it on Rose Avenue on a Sunday morning. We ordered every kind of taco, including a shrimp one and a sweet potato one that was so delicious I recreated it as soon as I got home.
It’s so easy to make on a weeknight and perfect even for meat lovers!
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into slices
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to season
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
½ cup crumbled queso fresco (Mexican cheese)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Mexican corn tortillas, to serve
Marinade
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 jalapeño, halved
1 yellow onion, quartered
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F.
For marinade, place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Pour marinade into large zip-closure bag; add sweet potato wedges and toss to coat. Remove from bag and arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 20–30 minutes, until tender and slightly crisped. Remove from oven and set aside.
To serve, layer sweet potatoes, avocado, and crumbled queso fresco into warmed tortillas. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve with your favourite Mexican hot sauce.
Serves up to 4.
Note: You can swap the sweet potato for shrimp and serve with pickled onions and without the cheese.
