Recipe: Wes Avila's Sweet Potato Tacos

You can thank Chef Wes Avila for the taco trend that is everywhere these days — he's one of the originators of the food truck craze and his tacos are popular for a reason. This Sweet Potato Taco is one of his best sellers at the famed Guerrilla Tacos in Los Angeles. Inspired by his aunt's recipe, it's topped with an almond salsa and it's as delicious as it sounds. Meat-free, it's an ideal vegetarian option and depending on your tortillas, it's also gluten-free. With beautiful fresh ingredients, and a little bit of a kick, this is the perfect recipe for taco night.     

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Tacos:

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes (Japanese sweet potatoes are best) rinsed, skins on, boiled, and sliced in 3/4 inch coins or bite-size
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• ½ lb French feta cheese (Valbreso if you can find it), crumbled
• 1 cup corn nuts
• ⅛ bunch scallions, rinsed and sliced about 1/8th inch thick (just the green parts, reserve the white parts for something else)
• Corn tortillas
• Butter

Almond Salsa:

• 1 tbsp lard or canola oil
• 1 cup dried chiles de arbol, de-stemmed
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
• 3 tbsp slivered almonds
• 1 lb tomatillos, de-sleeved and rinsed, and left whole
• ½ cup roasted red bell peppers (jarred from the store), rough chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup tap water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 habanero chile (use half if you don't like your salsa too spicy, or the whole pepper), de-stemmed, seeds included
• Salt to taste

Preparation

Place rinsed potatoes in a large saucepan or 6-quart stockpot and cover them with cold water. Salt the water until it's salty as the sea and turn up the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer the potatoes until they're just cooked to when you can stick a knife into one and it comes out clean — about 12 minutes. Drain and set the potatoes aside. When they're cool enough to handle, slice them and set aside. You'll reheat them in the pan later.

While the potatoes are simmering, start making the salsa. Heat a cast-iron pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add lard or canola oil. Once melted, add the chiles de arbol. When the chiles are browned all over and smelling toasty, add the garlic and the almonds. Don't burn the garlic! When it's slightly golden brown, add the tomatillos, bell peppers, a teaspoon salt, and ½ cup water to the pan. Cover and cook until the tomatillos are mushy — they should split easily and break apart when you push them with a spoon.

Take the pan off the heat and using a slotted spoon, add all solid ingredients to the blender and reserve the cooking liquid in the pan. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, and the habanero half of it if you don't want it too spicy, or, if you don't mind a little heat and don't have any plans for the other half, just throw in the whole pepper  to the blender. Cover the blender well and watch out you don't touch the hot chile seeds during this part. Blend until the salsa is nice and smooth, and season to taste with salt. You want a little acidity, plus the sweetness from the bell peppers and heat from the habanero and chiles de arbol. Check the consistency of the salsa and add some of the leftover cooking liquid from the pan to reach desired consistency. It should be about like a milkshake.

Put your largest cast iron pan on medium-high heat and add a few tablespoons butter, enough to coat, until it’s melty and bubbling but not burning. Working in batches, add layers of potatoes to the pan. You want both sides of each potato slice to get a little browned, but not tough or crispy. Add a couple sprigs of thyme to the pan and cook the potatoes until golden brown. Flip them and brown the other side. Set the browned potatoes aside on a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm.

Heat up your tortillas.

Plate your tacos. On top of two tortillas, add, in this order: 3-4 slices of potato, a tablespoon of salsa, a tablespoon of feta, 1/2 tablespoon corn nuts, and a sprinkle of scallions, and enjoy!