A winter CSA means I have more sweet potatoes and greens than I know what to do with. The easy solution is to roast the tubers and saute the greens and then put them in (or on) something, like this taco, for example.
I'm not sure what makes a taco a taco. As I see it, if food is placed in some type of tortilla (flour, corn, wheat) then it's a taco (especially if it's sprinkled with cheese). I like to describe this dish as a taco rather than the alternative description, wrap, because a wrap sounds like bland health food and taco sounds tasty. This dish is both healthy and tasty so maybe I should call it something else entirely. Wraco? Oh dear. I think I'll stick with taco.
Sweet Potato and Lemon Drenched Kale Tacos
Makes 8 tacos
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil (plus a little more for tossing the potatoes)
- 1 pound kale
- 2 medium size sweet potatoes
- dry Italian herbs (about 1 tbs)
- kosher salt
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 or 2 lemons
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 dried chili peppers
- 8 tortillas
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Method
This dish comes together in three steps:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 425. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into 1 to 1.5 inch cubes. Try to cut them so they are the same size. I know this is impossible since sweet potatoes have round curves. Do the best you can. Toss the cubes in olive oil, sprinkle some dry Italian herbs and kosher salt (the herbs are optional). Place the potatoes on a flat cookie sheet and roast for about 10 to 15 minutes. Check them around the eight minute mark to flip them. Meanwhile, the kale...
2. I was inspired by this recipe for the kale. Cut the ribs out of the kale, chop coarsely. Heat a stainless steel pan over medium high heat. When pan is hot, add about 1/4 cup of olive oil, a few sprigs of thyme and thinly sliced onion. Saute and stir until onion is soft and starting to brown. Add thinly sliced garlic and dried red chili (break up into pieces, letting the seeds loose). Cook for two minutes. Add kale and reduce heat. Add a few dashes of chicken stock and juice of one lemon. Saute, stirring often, over low heat for about 30 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs.
3. Assemble tacos. Combine sweet potatoes, kale, and a little cheese. For the cheese, something sharp is works well. I used a sharp cheddar.
The best thing about this dish is that you can cook the components and then assemble throughout the week. Just reheat the kale and sweet potatoes in the microwave (or in the oven) and assemble your taco.
