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yrmencynBeen a while since I posted any foodporn, eh? Here goes.
A while back, I made some salsa de chile morita -- well, actually I made it with chipotles per the described substitution, but who's counting? Problem was, I used some heirloom tomatillos that were bred for sweetness. That's great and all, but it meant that instead of being a nice, bright, acid salsa, I ended up with a salsa that was WAY too sweet to eat on chips (at least for my taste).
Rather than throw it out, I made some braised pork with it.
Salsa-braised pork
First, I took the blade roast that came in the insanely large 'pork loin combo pack' from Giant Eagle -- probably 2 lbs. or so -- and browned it in a couple tablespoons of olive oil:
Could have gone a little longer, but I was impatient.
Once the roast was nicely browned on both sides, I removed it to a plate and poured in the braising liquid and the seasonings:
That's a half-bottle of red wine,* about 2.5 cups of the sweet salsa, and 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice; and about a teaspoon of whole cumin, 4 cloves of peeled garlic, and a bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, add back the pork, cover, and leave at a low simmer for... oh, a while. Two hours? Three? You get some lovely pork, which you can then shred.
Add it back into the sauce, and keep in the fridge -- it'll be better, reheated, on the next day.
*I used Infinitus Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon, which I picked up at the Coop for five dollars and change -- tasty AND cheap, woohoo. You could use any dry red that isn't too tannic.
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OK, but what do you do with it? Well, you can put it on a tomato sandwich, as I did. Or you can eat a bowl of it, straight-up, like Jarod did. Or you can make delicious fajitas.
Fajitas of Salsa-braised pork
Serves 2-3, but easily bulked up for more
In a rather large skillet, fry up three slices of thick-sliced bacon, cut into inch-long pieces. Once they're brown and have rendered out most of their fat, remove the bacon pieces to a plate and add to the hot fat 1/2 of a large red onion, in long strips; and 2 medium sweet (bell) peppers or 1 large, in long strips. Sauté over high heat until softened and blistered, and add a couple cloves of garlic, minced.
Move the vegetables to the sides of the skillet, and put about 1.5c - 2c of the salsa-braised pork in the middle:
Let it cook for a little while without stirring, to try and get some caramelization on the underside, then stir it all together, adding the bacon back to the skillet.
Cook, stirring frequently, until well-combined and juices have thickened. Add 1/4 cilantro, chopped, and the juice of one lime. Remove from heat, and stir to combine.
Serve with Span-ish rice (recipe follows):
---------------
Span-ish Rice (it's not really Spanish, and not really "Spanish rice" as we call it in Texas, and it's barely a recipe)
Serves 2-3
In a saucepan or rice cooker, combine 1 can of Rotel tomatoes, 1 cup of rice, and 1 cup of water or stock. If using water or a salt-free stock, add in salt to taste (a heavy pinch should do it). Cook as usual (push down the button on the rice cooker, or bring to a boil in a saucepan and then hold at a very low simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes).
[You can stretch this to serve more: use two cups of rice, and 2 1/4 cups of water/stock.]
A while back, I made some salsa de chile morita -- well, actually I made it with chipotles per the described substitution, but who's counting? Problem was, I used some heirloom tomatillos that were bred for sweetness. That's great and all, but it meant that instead of being a nice, bright, acid salsa, I ended up with a salsa that was WAY too sweet to eat on chips (at least for my taste).
Rather than throw it out, I made some braised pork with it.
Salsa-braised pork
First, I took the blade roast that came in the insanely large 'pork loin combo pack' from Giant Eagle -- probably 2 lbs. or so -- and browned it in a couple tablespoons of olive oil:
Could have gone a little longer, but I was impatient.
Once the roast was nicely browned on both sides, I removed it to a plate and poured in the braising liquid and the seasonings:
That's a half-bottle of red wine,* about 2.5 cups of the sweet salsa, and 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice; and about a teaspoon of whole cumin, 4 cloves of peeled garlic, and a bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, add back the pork, cover, and leave at a low simmer for... oh, a while. Two hours? Three? You get some lovely pork, which you can then shred.
Add it back into the sauce, and keep in the fridge -- it'll be better, reheated, on the next day.
*I used Infinitus Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon, which I picked up at the Coop for five dollars and change -- tasty AND cheap, woohoo. You could use any dry red that isn't too tannic.
---------------------------
OK, but what do you do with it? Well, you can put it on a tomato sandwich, as I did. Or you can eat a bowl of it, straight-up, like Jarod did. Or you can make delicious fajitas.
Fajitas of Salsa-braised pork
Serves 2-3, but easily bulked up for more
In a rather large skillet, fry up three slices of thick-sliced bacon, cut into inch-long pieces. Once they're brown and have rendered out most of their fat, remove the bacon pieces to a plate and add to the hot fat 1/2 of a large red onion, in long strips; and 2 medium sweet (bell) peppers or 1 large, in long strips. Sauté over high heat until softened and blistered, and add a couple cloves of garlic, minced.
Move the vegetables to the sides of the skillet, and put about 1.5c - 2c of the salsa-braised pork in the middle:
Let it cook for a little while without stirring, to try and get some caramelization on the underside, then stir it all together, adding the bacon back to the skillet.
Cook, stirring frequently, until well-combined and juices have thickened. Add 1/4 cilantro, chopped, and the juice of one lime. Remove from heat, and stir to combine.
Serve with Span-ish rice (recipe follows):
---------------
Span-ish Rice (it's not really Spanish, and not really "Spanish rice" as we call it in Texas, and it's barely a recipe)
Serves 2-3
In a saucepan or rice cooker, combine 1 can of Rotel tomatoes, 1 cup of rice, and 1 cup of water or stock. If using water or a salt-free stock, add in salt to taste (a heavy pinch should do it). Cook as usual (push down the button on the rice cooker, or bring to a boil in a saucepan and then hold at a very low simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes).
[You can stretch this to serve more: use two cups of rice, and 2 1/4 cups of water/stock.]
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Date: 2009-09-05 08:10 pm (UTC)Today I made Purple Haze Beeramisu