We celebrated Cinco de Mayo this past weekend with a taco bar. It’s one of my favorite ways to entertain with Mexican inspired food. I make lots of toppings available and different seasoned meats. Everyone enjoys the casual feel of the taco buffet and ends up grazing the whole evening with different combinations.
I also make different tortillas available, corn (which I fry), flour for soft tacos and even the store-bought hard shell variety, which many people seem to love.
Since I have been working with Sargento (you can read about it in my first post) as a flavor journey correspondent, one of my assignments has been exploring “smokey taco fillings”. I wanted to make sure my Cinco de Mayo taco bar included some offerings in that category. The smokey sweet potato fries were a big hit. They are the perfect vegetarian dish or a great “meatless Monday” option.
I used frozen sweet potato fries in these tacos. There are so many great ones available now and it is a huge time saver, especially for an easy weeknight meal. The maple-jalapeno cream is also a great addition. The jalapeno adds a little more smokiness and the maple is just a classic pairing with the sweet potatoes.
I used fried corn tortillas for these. It gave them a nice crunch. You can use whatever type of tortilla you like but this was everyone’s favorite.
I decided to stick with Sargento’s Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican cheese becuase I love the mixture. Their Shredded Taco Cheese would work well too and it has Manchego…yum.
When the fries come out of the oven, sprinkle them with smoked paprika. Generously squeeze lime juice over them and season well with salt.
Are these not gorgeous? Perfect for tostadas too!
Smokey Sweet Potato Fry-Black Bean Tacos with Maple-Jalapeno Cream
Ingredients
Maple-Jalapeno Cream
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons jalapeno, seeded, minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco
- salt to taste
Tacos:
- 2 lbs frozen julienned sweet potato fries
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons smoked paprika
- juice of 1-2 limes
- salt
- 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed
- 2 cups Sargento Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican cheese
- 2 avocados, cubes
- 1/2 cup minced red onion
- cilantro leaves
- 8 corn tortillas, fried
Directions
- For the maple-jalapeno cream, add all ingredients to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Can make ahead.
- Cook sweet potato fries according to package directions. When you take them out of the oven, sprinkle with smoked paprika and season well with lime juice and salt.
- Build tacos starting with sweet potato fries on bottom, black beans, cheese, avocados, red onion, cilantro and top with maple-jalapeno cream.
Disclosure: I am currently working with Sargento Cheese over the next year as a Flavor Journey Correspondent. While I have been compensated for my time, as always, all opinions are my own.
