You've never seen these on the menu at your local fast-food Mexican restaurant, and you probably never will. One of the joys of cooking is that leftovers can be used to create better meals than most people get when they eat out. These tacos are remarkably simple to make. Just put the various ingredients in their own serving containers on the table and let everyone serve themselves.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　2 red bell peppers, roasted and peeled (see Cook's Notes)

　　3 cups thinly sliced hearts of romaine (1 large head; see Cook's Notes)

　　4 green onions, including green tops, thinly sliced

　　16 corn tortillas

　　diced meat from 1/2 Roast Duck with Balsamic Glaze [or other cooked duck meat]

　　1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

　　1 cup (1/2 pint) sour cream

　　1 cup prepared salsa

　　

Step 1

Cut the peppers into thin slices. In a large serving bowl, combine them with the romaine and green onions. Toss well.

　　

Step 2

Preheat an oven to 200°F. Place the tortillas in a covered heatproof container such as a tortilla warmer or a shallow casserole with a lid. Place the tortillas in the oven and heat for 20 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Place the duck meat, lime wedges, sour cream, and salsa in separate serving bowls. Let the diners spread a little sour cream on a tortilla, add a little salsa, a little duck, a little lettuce mixture, and squeeze a little lime juice over all. Roll and eat.

　　Cook's Notes:

　　To roast and peel bell peppers: Cut off the top and bottom of the peppers and cut the peppers into fourths. Remove the seeds and ribs. Place the peppers skin-side down over a high gas flame (or under a preheated broiler, skin-side up) until the skin is black. Place in a plastic or paper bag, close it, and let sit for 10 minutes. Scrape the blackened skin off with a paring knife (don't rinse, or much of the flavor will be lost.

　　<a name="note2"></a>Hearts of romaine are the crisp leaves in the middle of a head of romaine lettuce.

　　Cooking for the Week by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart and Kathleen TaggartChronicle Books