Potato Tacos

I'm really into bean-alternative, vegetarian taco fillings right now. If it's even possible to be "into" a category as vague as that one. Recently I made acorn squash enchiladas, which were terrific. I didn't manage to get a picture of them, but the recipe was basically the same as the acorn squash tacos I made last Fall, only covered with red sauce and cheese, then and baked for 15 minutes. And I love to order the potato tacos from Irazu.

The other night I wanted to try making an approximation of those tacos with their light, potato-y filling and complex mole dipping sauce. But it was evening and we were already hungry by the time I realized how seriously involved mole was. Lacking the sauce, I decided to focus more flavor on the filling itself by roasting the potatoes with a mixture of dried spices.

The result was nothing like Irazu's version, but delicious still.

4 medium potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small onion, quartered
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
1 banana pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
olive oil
salt
red pepper flakes
cumin
coriander
paprika
oregano
1/2 cup or more milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
lettuce
salsa

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the potatoes, onion, garlic, and peppers with olive oil, then spread them out in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle them generously with salt and the various dried spices. I didn't include amounts here, but the idea is to give the vegetables a pretty good spice-coating.

Roast for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Mash the roasted potatoes, onion, garlic, and peppers with the milk, sour cream, and cheese. This may be a bit difficult because roasting dries out the vegetables. I enlisted, with restraint, the help of an immersion blender -- which I wouldn't recommend for regular mashed potatoes since it makes them kind of gummy.

Fill flour tortillas with the mashed potatoes, lettuce, and salsa (or whatever garnishes you like!)

Makes about 10 small tacos.