Tacos are one of my standby meals. Because they’re so versatile, it’s an easy way to go vegetarian for dinner. I’ve always got spuds and onions languishing in the pantry, and a bell pepper in the fridge – the makings of the breakfast potatoes known as Potatoes O’Brien. So it was a short leap to Potatoes O’Brien Tacos, a mashup of breakfast potatoes and taco night.
Potatoes O’Brien are panfried potatoes with onions and bell peppers. They’re basic but crave-able, and the seasoning easily adapts for tacos. I also took some cues from traditional Mexican potato tacos (tacos de papa), fried tacos filled with seasoned mashed potatoes.
But I wanted a streamlined method for ease of preparation, transforming familiar breakfast potatoes for taco night. Using the oven to do the work rather than pan frying on the stovetop frees up some time to focus on toppings.
These tacos pair well with a wide variety of toppings. Pick your favorite – cheese, pico de gallo, or guacamole. But a lime sour cream sauce made with roasted poblano is just right with this potato filling. It’s a quick version of a lime crema combined with some inspiration from the Mexican dish of rajas con crema.
While the potatoes are in the oven, there’s plenty of time to roast a poblano on the stovetop and to make a quick sauce. An immersion blender makes quick work of blitzing strips of peeled poblanos into sour cream with lime juice, salt, and cilantro.
The result is a punchy sauce that’s creamy with some pleasant heat. But if you’re thinking that roasting a poblano seems like too much effort, skip it. Just make a quick lime-cilantro-sour cream sauce. And if you still want some heat on your taco, go with some pickled jalapeño slices.
I’d give an edge to soft corn tortillas for Potatoes O’Brien Tacos for the hearty texture. Though flour tortillas are sturdy and perfect for next day quesadillas with leftovers. I’m also thinking a crispy shell with the middle school taco treatment could be fun.
Tacos are part of my routine meal planning strategy. I’m a meat eater, but try to make plant based meals on the regular. Potatoes O’Brien Tacos are an easy option for vegetarian tacos.
Potatoes O’Brien Tacos with Poblano Lime Sour Cream
EQUIPMENT
- half sheet pan or large rimmed baking tray
Ingredients
Potatoes O'Brien Tacos
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 pound russet or gold potatoes peeled and diced (about 2.5 cups)
- spray oil for pan
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- corn tortillas
- taco toppings as desired
Poblano Lime Sour Cream
- 1 poblano pepper
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tablespoons)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prep the vegetables for taco filling. First dice bell pepper and onions into roughly 3/4 inch pieces. Then peel potatoes and cut into bite size pieces, roughly 1/2 inch x 3/4 inch chunks. (Prepping the potatoes after the bell pepper and onion helps to avoid browning of the cut potatoes.)
- Grease a large sheet pan with spray oil.
- Transfer the diced bell pepper, onions, and potatoes to the sheet pan. Add olive oil, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Toss well to thoroughly coat vegetables with oil and distribute the seasonings.
- Put sheet pan in the oven and cook for 40 to 50 minutes until potatoes are tender and golden brown in spots. If you like, stir the potatoes a bit during final 5 – 10 minutes to promote even browning.
- While potatoes are in the oven, prepare the poblano lime sour cream. Heat the poblano pepper in a dry skillet over medium-high heat about 3-4 minutes per side (for a total of about 12 to 15 minutes) until poblano is well blistered and charred all the way around.
- Remove poblano from skillet and place in paper bag or covered bowl for 5 minutes to allow the heat to soften and loosen the skin. (Be mindful that poblano peppers have some heat so you may want to use gloves.) Use a paring knife to remove as much of the skin as possible. Then remove stem, slice open the poblano, and use paring knife to remove seeds. Roughly chop poblano into pieces.
- Transfer chopped poblano into small container suitable for immersion blending. Add sour cream, lime juice, cilantro, and salt. Use an immersion blender for several seconds to make a mostly smooth sauce. Taste and add more salt or lime juice as needed. Alternatively, you could use a small food processor to blend ingredients. Or do it by hand – finely chop the poblano and cilantro, then in a small bowl stir together with sour cream, lime juice, and salt.
- Warm up corn tortillas if desired according to package instructions.
- Serve the potato filling with tortillas and poblano lime sour cream. Assemble tacos and enjoy!
- If you like, skip the poblano lime sour cream sauce and use your favorite taco toppings. Any combination of cheese, chopped tomatoes, salsa, hot sauce, or guacamole works well.
Notes
- If roasting, skinning and seeding a poblano seems like too much work, just make a quick lime crema by combining sour cream and lime juice with a pinch of salt, with or without chopped cilantro as you like. Or even just a dollop of sour cream goes well with potato filling.
- If sour cream is not your thing, use your favorite taco toppings.
- There are various methods for heating up soft tortillas. When I’m using the oven as in this recipe, I wrap the tortillas in foil and put them in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes or until warmed through. Otherwise I heat up tortillas individually in a dry pan on the stovetop. Or for a quicker method, I microwave a stack of tortillas on a microwave safe plate covered with a microwave safe lid for 30 to 60 seconds. For hard taco shells, follow heating instructions on package.
- Store leftover potato filling and poblano-lime-sour cream in the refrigerator. Reheat leftover potato-pepper-onion filling over medium heat in a frying pan on the stovetop. Use for next day tacos. Or put reheated filling in a flour tortilla with cheese for quesadillas; fold up the tortilla and cook over medium heat on both sides until cheese is melty and tortilla is starting to brown. Top with leftover poblano lime sour cream.
