Tacos de Papa Hwy. 99 (Potato Tacos)

By stancec44

Tacos de Papa Hwy 99 (Potato Tacos)
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Romulo Yanes
Inspired by the potato tacos at Loncheria Otro Rollo in Bakersfield, these Tacolicious versions are stuffed with fluffy mashed potatoes and pan-fried until crisp. Serve with a smoky ranchero sauce (recipe included).

Ingredients

• TACOS
• 5 tbsp. olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
• 4 canned chipotle chiles en adobo
• 1 (15-oz.) can whole, peeled tomatoes
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1 1⁄2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 12 (6") corn tortillas
• 1 ⁄2 cup canola oil
• Thinly sliced green and red cabbage and red radishes, for garnish
• Crumbled queso fresco, for garnish
• Salsa
• 10 dried guajillo chiles (available at marxfoods.com)
• 6 dried árbol chiles (available at marxfoods.com)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 plum tomatoes, cored
• 1 small white onion, halved
• Kosher salt, to taste

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

SALSA:
Heat a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add guajillo and árbol chiles, and cook, turning as needed, until lightly toasted all over, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl, and cover with boiling water; let sit until chiles are soft, about 20 minutes. Drain chiles, reserving 1 cup soaking liquid, and remove stems and seeds. Transfer chiles and reserved soaking liquid to a blender and set aside.

Return skillet to high heat. Add garlic, tomatoes, and onion, and cook, turning as needed, until blackened all over, about 6 minutes for garlic, 15 minutes for tomatoes, and 12 minutes for onion. Transfer to blender with chiles along with salt, and purée until smooth and silky, at least 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and serve at room temperature.

TACOS:
Heat 3 tbsp. olive oil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium. Cook garlic and onion until soft, about 5 minutes; transfer to a blender. Add chiles, tomatoes, and salt; purée until smooth and set sauce aside.

Cook potatoes in a 4-qt. saucepan of salted boiling water until cooked through, about 15 minutes; drain and return to pan over medium. Add remaining olive oil, the cumin, and salt; mash potatoes.

Working in batches, place about 1⁄4 cup potato in the center of a tortilla; fold tortilla in half and secure with a toothpick. Heat canola oil in a 12" skillet over medium. Fry tacos, flipping once, until golden and crisp, 2–3 minutes. Discard toothpicks and transfer tacos to a platter; top with reserved sauce, the cabbage, radishes, and queso fresco.