Jen's Sweet Potato Tacos

The best thing my sister-in-law Jen gave me before she died was her sweet potato taco recipe. She never wrote it down, as far as I know, but this is how I remember her making them. Neither of us ever measured the ingredients, it's all just a ballpark of whatever tastes best to you. Jen was always encouraging everyone to do the things that made them the happiest.

Jennifer's Sweet Potato Tacos

1 sweet potato per person
Cumin
Garlic (fresh minced or powdered)
Chili powder
Salt
Shallot or onion
Lime
Cilantro
Feta
Avocado
Pepitas
Honey

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Wash and peel the sweet potato. Dice into bite size chunks. (Feel free to use pre-cut sweet potatoes if your grocery sells them. This step takes the longest.)

2. Add sweet potato to a cast iron pan or baking sheet. Generously drizzle olive oil or coconut oil, then coat sweet potatoes with cumin, garlic, and chili powder. Add salt to taste. Bake for 20~ minutes, or until potatoes feel firm, not mushy, when poked with a fork. They'll be brown on the edges. Remove and squeeze lime over the whole pan.

3. While sweet potatoes cook, saute onions or shallots in olive oil until brown. Add salt and set aside.

4. Prepare other toppings: chop the cilantro; crumble the feta; wedge the limes; slice the avocado; set out the pepitas; warm the tortillas. Set out in bowls or dishes for family-style taco assembly.

5. Assemble your tacos! The honey is the Jen's finishing touch.


I'm not a food stylist, so no photos of tacos for you here.

But here's my favorite portrait of Jen. I'm pretty sure I took this on the same night she taught me this recipe. I wish I could ask her.



Jennifer Dawn Magstadt Steele. Hasselblad 501c, Kodak Portra 400 film. February 2015. San Clemente, CA.