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Tangled Branches: Satiated

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Carnitas Tacos

At long last, we got to eat something from the garden other than herbs. It would still leave you hungry, because it was still just seasoning, but it was actual fruit - not leaves!

Carnitas Tacos with Pico de Gallo

I swear that I have a cookbook here somewhere which tells me that Pico de Gallo is a relish of chopped chiles and onions - sharp like a rooster's beak (pico de gallo). The thing called Pico de Gallo that's commonly served in restaurants these days is more like what I always called a Salsa Cruda (uncooked salsa) - diced tomatoes with chile and onion. Well, whatever it's called, I was trying to imitate the Carnitas Tacos at Picante from several years ago. (They've changed their menu since.)

First, I made the relish. I finely minced five assorted chile peppers (that's the garden part). These were only mildly hot, so I left the seeds in. Then I finely minced some yellow onion; the amount was roughly equal (or a little less) than the amount of the chopped chiles. I cut a few coriander leaves (cilantro) (there's the garden again) and minced those finely. Mixed everything in a small bowl, and added lime juice and salt to taste.

I cut up some pork chops into carnitas-sized pieces, approximately half-inch dice. Tossed the diced pork with some soy sauce, sliced garlic, and lots of black pepper, and set them aside for a while to soak up the seasoning flavors.

Then I put the pork on flat metal skewers (leaving the garlic behind in the bowl), and grilled it over charcoal until crispy.

We then assembled tacos from the meat, relish, some romaine lettuce, and flour tortillas.

Verdict: a winner, but the chiles could be hotter.

Labels: chiles, pork

posted by Entangled at 9:23 AM  

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