Roasted sweet potato, golden chipotle corn & zingy pink pickled onions finished with chimichurri, this habanero taco recipe has got it all! It’s jam packed with so many delicious flavours that all mingle together beautifully and make for the tastiest tacos ever. It’s also completely vegetarian and thanks to all those delicious veggies, these tacos are super healthy too. What’s not to love?! You can also make pretty much everything in advance, so if you want a stress free meal to make for friends, this is it.
Making these habanero tacos couldn’t be easier. Start by roasting up little cubes of sweet potato, then when they’re cooked to perfection, gently toss them in a touch of habanero sauce. The combination of fiery & fruity habaneros with sweet potato is really rather lovely. My favourite habanero sauce is made by Wahaca it’s SO good! But if you can’t get your hands on this, I’m sure any other fruity hot sauce would also work well. I wanted these habanero tacos to have a creaminess to them too, which normally comes from guac. But I chose to mix things up a little and make something that was seasonal here in the UK, so my über wife suggested using corn and it was the perfect shout…she’s a keeper! Simply boil a couple of cobs, then whizz them up with butter, garlic and red peppers along with a touch of chipotle sauce and you have epic chipotle corn! To complete this habanero taco recipe, I called upon one of my all time favourite condiments…
Chimichurri brings back such good memories for me. About ten years ago I spent the summer exploring South America with one of my all-time best mates (and another legend who I wish I saw more of). We ate the world and whilst travelling in Argentina, consumed more than our fair share or grilled meat and chimichurri (of course washed down with a bottle or two of delicious red). But one of my favourite things about food is the number of variations there are of a simple recipe. Each restaurant we visited gave us their take on a traditional chimichurri. Whilst the quantities of ingredients varied, there was definitely a theme. A good hit of oregano and garlic, usually plenty of red chilli and parsley, then to bring it all together some tasty red wine vinegar and olive oil. Of course, drizzled over freshly grilled churrasco (grilled meats) it tastes epic (try it on the ultimate lamb rump steak), but it’s equally as delicious drizzled over roast or grilled veg, so I thought I’d try out some habanero chimichurri tacos. They’re gooooood! The chimichurri recipe I used came from here, so a great big thank you to Karina for sharing it.
I chose to serve my chimichurri tacos in soft tortillas, but you could make low carb tacos if you swap the tortillas for crisp romaine lettuce leaves. They still taste amazing but skip a few of the carbs if that’s your thing. If you fancy mixing things up, these smoky black beans would go beautifully! One of the best things about this habanero taco recipe is that it’s so simple and is great for getting ahead. They’re the perfect tacos for sharing with friends because you can make everything in advance! The chipotle corn & chimichurri taste great at room temp so make it the day before if you want. You can even pre-roast the sweet potato too, then just fire it back in a hot oven for 5 before tossing in the habanero sauce. Simple. Also, you can easily make this recipe vegan. When making the chipotle corn just use a touch of oil instead of butter, and swap the yoghurt for a vegan alternative. Hope you love the recipe as much as Bea and I did and have a great weekend ya’ll!
ULTIMATE HABANERO TACO RECIPE, CHIPOTLE CORN & CHIMICHURRI
Ingredients
Habanero Sweet Potato
- 2 large sweet potatoes chopped into 1cm cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp habanero sauce
Chipotle Corn
- 2 corn cobs
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 red pepper finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tbsp chipotle sauce
- 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt
Pickled Onions
- 1 red onion finely sliced
- 30 ml red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup
Chimichurri
- 120 ml olive oil
- 30 ml red wine vinegar
- A large handful flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
- 2 small red chillis finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Other ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas
- A little fresh coriander finely chopped
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F. Toss the sweet potato in oil, season & roast for 20-25 minutes, until golden & cooked through.
- Meanwhile,in a pan of salted water, boil the corn cobs for 8-10 minutes until tender. In a small frying pan, melt the butter & sweat pepper & garlic for 8 minutes until golden & sweet. Cut the corn from the cob (reserve a little) & add it to a processor with the garlic, peppers & chipotle. Blitz to a slightly chunky paste. Stir through yoghurt.
- Mix the onions in a bowl with the vinegar & syrup. Season & scrunch everything together. Leave to sit whilst you finish.
- Mix all of the chimichurri ingredients in a bowl & allow to sit.
- Warm the tortillas and keep warm (I wrap mine in a tea towel). Once the Potato is ready, remove from oven and toss in the habanero sauce. Pile it into a warm bowl. Bring everything to the table and tuck in.
