Baked Sweet Potato Tacos in Kragerø

Easter break! Finally! I’ve been looking forward to travelling with my mother to Kragerø – a tiny, beautiful and cozy coastal town in Southern Norway. First and foremost, we’re here to visit my mother’s oldest friend, who lives in a beautiful house by the sea. Not only had we planned to visit, but I had planned to wow the two of them with baked sweet potato tacos. I’ve made them once before and they instantly became my favourite kind of taco. Or rather; my favourite way to serve tacos. The sweet potatoes take quite a bit of time in the oven, but waiting longer than you might want to is totally worth it:) These tacos are simply delicious, filling, colourful and just a great and fancy way to serve tacos. So yeah, if you really like taco, these are perfect to serve for a nice dinner with friends and family. And I promise you, everyone will be impressed!

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes (I baked 6 so that I would have leftovers) – make sure they’re all approximately equally thick and the same size. Also, when in the store, opt for the slimmer and smaller sweet potatoes (long ones are also cool as long as they’re thin) as opposed to the wide ones (they take forever to cook).

1 can of corn/maize

chunky tomato salsa (store bought because you’re not a try-hard overachiever)

some coriander for garnish

For the pickled red onions: I made about twice as much as was needed for the recipe so that I would have extras in the fridge:) Because of the vinegar, they last at least a couple of weeks and can be used for all kinds of tacos, wraps and sandwiches; you name it!

2 medium red onions

0,5 dL white vinegar (plain)

0,5 dL white sugar

3 dL water

Bean mixture:

1 box/can cooked black beans (about 285 g)

1/2 yellow onion or 1 shallot (I used shallot), chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

about 1 tbsp of cumin

some water (about 1 dL)

salt and pepper – a pinch of each

Guacamole:

1 1/2 – 2 medium sized avocados

1/4 red onion, chopped

some cherry tomatoes (I used seven)

juice of 1/2 lime (or less for a milder flavour)

a handful of coriander stalks

salt and pepper – a pinch of each

Let’s jump right into the recipe!

Start by turning the oven to 175 degrees Celcius (about 350 Farenheit). Line a baking tray with a baking sheet and wash the sweet potatoes. Do not remove the skin, just make sure to wash them properly. Next, lightly pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork to make sure they don’t explode or something in the oven. Unless you do want sweet potato-goo everywhere. The choice is up to you. Once the oven is hot, place the sweet potatoes on the tray and into the oven. Now they should cook some time between one hour and one and a half hours. Don’t worry too much about timing them – they’re better cooked a little longer than not adequatly.

Next up are the gorgeous pickled red onions. Start by mixing the vinegar, sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil while you chop the red onions; first into halves, next into slices (creating little purple semi circles that are so beautiful they make you cry, literally). Lastly, cut the slices in half. If you’re feeling a little lazy, just make sure you get the big ones. Add the onions to the pot and let them boil for about five minutes on medium heat. They should slightly change colour from purple to pink. If you’re colour blind, I can’t help you – just cross your fingers and hope they’re ready. Put them in some kind of millenial-style-glass-container (mason jar) and let them sit until cool. You can place them in the fridge or leave them out until dinner. Anyways, aren’t they just wonderful to look at?

Now let’s prepare the bean mixture! In Norwegian we call it “bønnestuing” which translates to bean stew, but that’s not really what this is. Anyways, start by heating a pot with some oil (between a teaspoon and tablespoon). Once hot, add the garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent and add the black beans, some water (not more than a desiliter or 2/5 of a cup) and if you like authentic taco flavour, a tablespoon of cumin. You should also add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix. Now let it simmer for somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes. Afterwards, take the pot off the heat and with a potato masher or fork, mash the beans until they looks…well… kind of gross. Put the mixture in a bowl once you’re sick of mashing and store it in the fridge for later.

Here’s a picture taken outside on the patio of my mother’s friend. It proved to be quite the challenge keeping her dog, Lukas inside while I was photographing, but I managed, believe it or not.

Now depending on how much time you’ve spent preparing the onions and beans, it might be time to make the guacamole. Holy guacamole, it really is a mouth watering dip/sauce/whatever tickles your pickle! That last part was a little weird. Do you feel akward now? I certainly do.

Start by mashing the avocados in a bowl. Next, add the coriander, or cilantro if you’re that kind of person. Chop the tomatoes in quarters and add it along with the red onion, lime juice, salt and pepper. Check on the sweet potatoes with a fork; if they’re quite soft, leave the guac out. If they’re not, cover it and put in the fridge.

Open the can of corn and rinse well. I placed them in a little bowl and took a picture with it and the other condiments outside on the terrace. The weather is simply beautiful; the sun is shining, there’s a light breeze and there are little boats on the water – feels and looks like summer!

After having enjoyed life a little (or not), check on the sweet potatoes. If they’re really soft and easy to slide a fork through, they might be ready. But if you’re unsure, just cook them a little longer. I cooked these for about one and a half hours and the consistency when I served them was silky-smooth/ melt in your mouth/velvety. When you eventually do take them out of the oven, let them rest for just a few minutes before transferring them to a plate or cutting board to be dressed (stuffed). Grab two forks and start “opening” the sweet potatoes to make room for the fillings (see picture below). Next, spoon some of the bean mixture into each of the sweet potatoes. Add a splash of salsa and a sprinkle of corn. Thirdly, spread some guacamole onto the taco and add some pickled red onions and coriander on top (for garnish).

If you want to make a taco bowl instead of serving them like a baked potato, simply put the sweet potato in a bowl and spread it with a fork so that it kind of expands and covers the bottom and sides of the bowl (did that make sense? If confused, view picture below). Add the other toppings just as described earlier.

And here are a bunch of pictures which make me incredibly happy as well as give me a warm and cozy feeling inside:)

Lastly, I’ve included some pictures from my evening walk with Lukas along the cute and picturesque landscapes of Kragerø. You should visit sometime during the summer; it’s absolutely beautiful! For more information (not sponsored), check out
https://www.visittelemark.com/kragero!

I tried to take a 2019-style-vegan-teenager-is-a-dog’s-best-friend-selfie, but Lukas seemed more interested in sniffing the grass and peeing everywhere. Hence, this was the only picture I managed to take with the both of us included and with the water in the background. Enjoy your Easter break until next time and I really hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Lukas says goodbye! Never mind, I think he’s just hungry..