A couple of weeks ago, I celebrated a birthday. In years past, my birthday celebration has generally been out at a restaurant or bar with a group of friends, with the size of the group a direct reflection of my feelings about that year’s birthday. But this year, I decided to throw myself a themed fiesta and cook dinner for 25 of my closest friends. Easy, right?
A number of people were skeptical about this idea, wondering why I’d want to slave away in the kitchen for my own party. But for me, the format made sense for a few reasons. First, cooking for a group of people makes me really, really happy. It brings me so much joy to plan the menu and feed (hopefully) delicious food to people I care about. That’s how I show people I’m grateful to have them in my life. And second, I decided that a Mexican-themed party where tacos were the main event would actually be pretty easy to pull off, and they would do well in a buffet-style format where everyone helps themselves.
But let me be clear about these tacos- I’m not talking about hard shells, ground beef with packet seasoning, chopped tomato and shredded iceberg lettuce. There is nothing wrong with that kind of taco, but it’s not my thing. Instead, I turned to Rick Bayless, whose books contain some delicious and incredibly unusual taco ideas, many of which I’d made before and knew they were special. I decided to make three fillings, several salsas, guacamole, a pot of black beans and serve toppings like radishes, pickled jalapenos and queso fresco. The fillings would be a slow-cooked pork (a new recipe for me, and coming soon to the blog!) a reliably good spicy shredded chicken with tomatillos and a vegetarian filling that my sister visiting from out of town would be able to enjoy.
I think what this all highlights, and what you’ll get a sense of from reading Bayless’s book, is that you do anything with a taco. If you can dream it, you can stick it in a steamed corn tortilla and make it work. So while you probably don’t think of potatoes, chard and fire-roasted poblanos in a creamy sauce as an obvious filling for tacos, it is actually perfect in terms of flavor and texture. I know this for sure because I’ve been eating taco leftovers almost everyday for about 10 days, and I still haven’t gotten tired of this one.
I hope these unusual tacos inspire you to try something new- especially as we get into warmer weather. It just doesn’t get much better than a stack of hot corn tortillas and colorful toppings, eaten outside in the sunshine.
Ingredients
- 12 oz. (4 medium-large) fresh poblano chiles
- A scant 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- A generous 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- A generous 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if you want to keep it vegetarian)
- 3 medium (10 oz.) red-skin boiling potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 6 cups loosely packed, sliced red or white chard leaves (slice them 1/2 inch thick- you'll need a 12-oz. bunch)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup creme fraiche
- Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or pressed, salted farmer's cheese
- 16 to 18 corn tortillas
Instructions
- Roast the chiles directly over a gas flame or 4 inches below a very hot broiler until blackened on all sides, about 5 minutes for open flame, about 10 minutes for broiler. Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand 5 minutes. Peel, pull out the stem and seed pod, then rinse briefly to remove bits of skin and seeds. Slice into 1/4-inch strips.
- In a large (10- to 12-inch) skillet heat the oil over medium, then add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until nicely browned but still a little crunchy, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs, toss a minute longer, then stir in the chiles.
- Set up a steamer (with this many tortillas, you'll need 2 vegetable steamers set up in saucepans or a big Chinese steamer- either choice with 1/2 inch of water under the steamer basket). Heat to a boil. Wrap the tortillas in 2 stacks in heavy kitchen towels, lay in the steamer(s) and cover tightly. Boil 1 minute, turn off the heat and let stand without opening the steamer(s) for about 15 minutes.
- While the tortillas are steaming, prepare the filling. In a small saucepan, combine the broth and potatoes, cover and simmer over medium-low until nearly tender, about 15 minutes.
- Pour the potatoes and broth into the pan with the peppers and onions, mix in the chard and boil over medium-high heat until the broth has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Mix in the cream and continue to boil, stirring regularly, until the cream is reduced enough to coat the mixture nicely. Taste and season with salt.
- Scoop the mixture into a warm, deep serving dish, sprinkle with the cheese and serve alongside the warm tortillas.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2018/04/05/braised-chard-potato-and-poblano-tacos/
