I am not one to follow trends at all, it just so happened that I had some leftover roasted beets and I had been wanting to test making coloured tortillas, so one thing led to another and I finally made these VERY PINK tortillas. They turned out so well that I needed to use them for something special.
Everything you see on social media right now is all about Barbie Pink, but any association these pink tacos may have with Barbie is purely coincidental.
All that aside, these fried taquitos are so good, easy to make and could be plant based if you swap out the cheese to a feta style vegan cheese. I have another recipe for hibiscus tacos here in the blog, but these have the addition of cheese and cilantro. The salty cheese gives them amazing flavour and when we add the fried element to them it takes them to another dimension. When you are feeling like you want something with that street food vibe, then make these tacos. I am sure you will love them!
This recipe starts with hydrating hibiscus flowers. I encourage you to find whole dried flowers at your Latin or Middle Eastern grocer (hibiscus tea bags will not work here). Once you cook the flowers in water, don’t waste that ruby hued water and make some tea - just add the sweetener of your choice and thin it out with water to suit your taste, then chill and enjoy. After that, chop the flowers to make these tacos. Once you have the hibiscus mixed with the tomatoes, onions and chiles, let it cool before you add the cheese, as we don’t want the heat to melt the cheese right away. This mixture can be made ahead for up to three days, ready to make tacos whenever you crave them.
TAQUITOS DORADOS DE JAMAICA
Crispy Hibiscus Tacos
1 cup dried hibiscus flowers
4 cups water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced onion
1 Jalapeño chile, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 vine or Roma tomato, diced (about 3/4 cup)
3/4 cup crumbled panela, feta or cotija cheese, plus more for garnish
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
10 corn tortillas
2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil for pan frying
4 cups shredded iceberg or green leaf lettuce
1/2 cup crema, crème fraîche or sour cream
Pickled onions
Salsa of your choice
2 avocados, cut into wedges
In medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a slow boil. Add hibiscus flowers and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Strain and reserve water for making hibiscus tea.
Cool hibiscus flowers, then chop into small pieces - you should have about 1 1/3 cups. Reserve.
In large frying pan, heat oil and add onion and jalapeño. Cook over medium high heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add tomato and cook until tomatoes are very soft, about 4-5 minutes.
Add reserved chopped hibiscus flowers and mix well. Let this mixture cool down for at least 10 minutes, then add cheese and cilantro. Season with salt to taste. You can make this mixture up to two days ahead.
When ready to make tacos, warm up some tortillas, then add some hibiscus mixture to each tortilla, amount will depend on the size of your tortillas, but they should only have enough to contain mixture nicely while folded without spilling out. Fold filled tortillas gently.
Heat up a comal or large frying pan and add only enough oil to coat the surface. Add folded tortillas and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, turning as you cook until tortillas become crunchy and filling is warmed up.
Drain on paper towels, then place on a bed of lettuce, garnish with cheese and pickled onions. Serve with avocado wedges and salsa.
Makes about 10 tacos.