Mmmm, tacos! Living now in California, there are many more Mexican influenced restaurants and ingredients readily available in the stores. It’s almost like being back in Texas! I’m also having to brush up on my Spanish; haven’t used it in about 10 years, but it’s coming back the more I interact with the Spanish speaking community. Anyway, this atmosphere and abundance of produce is inspiring me to create more Mexican food, as I used to make. But this time, without the dairy and meat. Which, surprisingly, isn’t as hard as I had thought! Mexican restaurants are ones I can usually find something to eat – and that makes me happy. ‘Cause you know what? Tacos are good.

We were originally going to make chiles rellenos, but time was not on our side and we decided to make tacos instead. Much faster, but just as satisfying. We were also going to use the Beyond Meat Beef-less Crumbles or Chickun, but alas, the Whole Foods was out of both!! That made me sad. But good that they’re popular and selling well. So feel free to add some of either to the mix!

the workspace with wine & snacks

This was really easy to put together, and pretty quick. Not too many ingredients, but huge flavor – great for a weeknight meal.

•  4-5 poblanos (or any large, sweet/mild chile – I’ve used whatever I found at the farmer’s markets and all with success)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 mushrooms (I like creminis), sliced
• 3 medium yukon gold potatoes, skins on (but scrubbed clean), diced into bite-sized pieces (~1/2″ cubes)
• 1-2 jalapenos, minced or sliced
• 2 t cumin
• 1 t Adobo seasoning
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t smoked paprika
• juice from 2 limes
• 2-3 T vegan sour cream
• 2 T fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 T fresh chopped parsley
• salt, pepper
• corn tortillas

Blister the poblanos over an open flame or under the broiler until the skin is all black. Remove to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (or put in a paper bag, or just some enclosed container to let the steam loosen the skin from the meat) and let cool about 10-15 minutes until they’re cool enough to handle. Using your hands, and possibly with the help of a paper towel, rub/peel the blackened skin off the poblanos. Do NOT run them under water; it’s better to have some stragglers of blackened skin in the meal than have water wash away the lovely flavors. Cut off the tops, cut in half, and remove the stem/seeds/veins. Then either cut into strips or rough chop the chiles.

In a pot, add the potatoes and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are mostly tender. Drain. In a skillet (I use nonstick for the potatoes), heat a bit of oil or broth, and add the potatoes. Season with a touch of salt & pepper, 1 t cumin and the Adobo, and let cook, without stirring, for a few minutes to get one side of the potatoes crispy. Once they start to brown, add the cilantro and parsley, stir it around, and remove from heat.

In another skillet, heat some oil (or broth) and add the onion. Cook the onion over med/med-hi heat about 5-8 minutes until edges are getting browned. Add the mushrooms and jalapenos, and cook another 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle with some salt & pepper, the rest of the seasonings, toss in the poblanos and the garlic, and cook about 3 minutes until everything is heated through. Pour in the lime juice and the sour cream, stir to combine, and then add in the potato mixture. Taste and adjust any seasonings.

stir well before using

Serve with the corn tortillas (which I like to throw on an open flame quickly to heat them through and get a touch of char), and optionally some avocado, salsa, fresh veggies (tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, etc), but these are best in a more simplistic way – no need for too many fancy toppings.