mashed potato tacos

When an artist stares at a blank canvas, there’s no telling what comes to mind.  He might be thinking of rural pastures and simpler times.  Or dark alleyways and urban sprawl.  Perhaps the curves of a woman’s body.  He might be thinking all of the above, and that’s the beauty of a blank canvas.  Anything is possible.

A similar phenomenon occurs when I stare at a blank tortilla.  Images of different flavors and fillings flash across my mind’s eye at a thousand frames per second, to the point where writing them down seems useless.  So instead I just keep staring until something clicks and the images stop.

It usually starts with a single ingredient.  Maybe cilantro, maybe shrimp.  Today it started with potatoes. I’ve been eating a lot of them since I moved abroad, due to a certain wheat allergy and a certain Spanish affinity for adding potatoes to pretty much everything.  Combine that with some acute Mexican food withdrawals and you’ve got yourself a nice mental image to fill that blank canvas with.

 

I’d heard of potato tacos in the canon of Mexican food lore, but still had yet to try them. So I grabbed a few spuds and started peeling. Fast forward 15 or 20 minutes and I found myself staring face-to-face (mouth-to-mouth?) with a true culinary masterpiece. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t difficult. But it was utterly delicious and I’ve decided to give it permanent residence in my taco repertoire. You should too.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup masa harina (tortilla dough)
1/2 cup warm water
vegetable oil, for frying
4 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
3 tbsp garlic oil
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper

Directions: Mix the masa harina with the water. Add some salt and set aside.  In a large pot, boil the potatoes until tender (10-15 minutes).  Drain all of the water except 1/4 cup.  Add garlic oil, milk, and cumin. Mash until smooth.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  In a medium sized pan, heat a thin layer of vegetable oil.  Roll the dough into 1/8 inch tortillas.  Fry each side for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp.  Fill the tortillas with mashed potatoes and anything else that sounds good (I used grilled salmon).