Cilantro Lime Potatoes

When you break down the ingredients in your average breakfast burrito, potatoes are pretty common – especially for vegetarians. While they are delicious in the morning, adding potatoes to your filling options on taco night is just as good. These potatoes roast unattended while you dance around in your living room or top your previous record time for bathing a cat. By the time you’re done cleaning your wounds and applying bandages you just need to give them a quick stir and then go spend another few minutes practicing on the oboe. It’s really quite simple to make, and you have a complete, no fuss dinner when you stuff them into a couple of warm tortillas with canned black beans, fresh avocado, and (if you eat dairy) some crumbled queso fresco.

Whenever I buy canned black beans I like to tweak the seasoning to suit my tastes. It almost always involves a bit of oregano, ground cumin, garlic, and chili powder. I will also stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste for an extra punch of flavor. If you want your beans to have a sort of slow cooked, smoky, “meaty” flavor – bacon salt is an awesome (vegetarian friendly) way to accomplish this. I love adding a touch of bacon salt to my bean recipes; it’s not enough to taste bacony but it provides a really nice savory undertone.

This is a smaller yield recipe that is ideal for 3-4 people (depending on the other ingredients going into your tacos) but it is easily doubled to accommodate more. Cilantro haters need not fear – this would work nicely with whatever herbs you enjoy. Lemon and parsley would be a bright, fresh flavor for a weeknight side dish if you don’t feel like getting all Southwesterny. And of course you can always eat them for breakfast!

Cilantro Lime Potatoes

Summary: Tender potatoes roasted in a dressing of fresh cilantro and lime.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• Pinch of white sugar (maybe 1/8 of a teaspoon, just to cut the tartness of the lime a little)
• 1lb potatoes, diced (I used Yukon gold)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Whisk together 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, lime juice, pepper, cilantro, and sugar. Set aside.
3. On a cutting board, sprinkle salt over minced garlic and scrape it down with the flat side of a broad knife. Continue crushing the garlic with the salt to make a paste.
4. Whisk garlic paste together with the teaspoon of olive oil and toss with your diced potatoes.
5. Arrange potatoes on a parchment lined cookie sheet and transfer to the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Toss potatoes with the prepared dressing and transfer to the oven for another 8-10 minutes.
7. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
8. Serve with warm corn or flour tortillas, black beans, fresh avocado, and queso fresco.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 3

Calories: 188