This recipe is based on an ‘al pastor’ taco – spicy pork topped with fiery but fresh pineapple salsa and creamy guacamole. It takes some time to prep all the ingredients, but then you can leave it to your guests to assemble their supper.
Pork tacos
Serves 6
For the pulled pork:
2kg skinless, boneless pork shoulder
Salt and pepper
For the marinade:
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3T chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 4 limes
3T red wine vinegar
2t dried oregano
2t ground allspice
2½t ground cumin
½t nutmeg
½t ground cloves
1 Season pork.
2 Combine all the marinade ingredients and pour over the meat. Leave it to marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3 Transfer the pork and marinade to a casserole dish with a lid, and slow-cook at 160˚C for 5–6 hours.
4 Place the pork on a chopping board and pull it apart using a fork, then mix with ½ cup marinade/cooking sauce. Warm it up just before serving.
Make your own tortillas:
2 cups masa harina flour
½t salt
1½ cups warm water
1 Combine the masa flour with salt.
2 Pour in 1 cup warm water and mix until a coarse crumb forms.
3 Add the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a smooth dough is formed.
4 Roll into 12 golf ball-sized balls. Use a rolling pin to roll the balls into flat rounds about 1cm thick (or use a tortilla press).
5 Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium-high and place a tortilla in the pan. Leave for 10 seconds, turn and cook for 1–2 minutes, then turn and cook the other side for 1–2 minutes. 6 Remove from the heat and wrap in a dishcloth to keep warm and soft.
7 Repeat with the rest of the dough.
For the pineapple salsa:
1 pineapple, finely chopped
2 chillies, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
Juice of 2 limes, plus zest of 1 lime
1T white sugar
¾ cup chopped coriander
Salt and pepper
Combine all the ingredients and season to taste.
For the tomato salsa:
3T olive oil
3 tomatoes, halved
1 jalapeno chilli
2 cloves garlic
½ onion
½ cup coriander leaves
2t red wine vinegar
1t honey
Salt and pepper
1. Heat a pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the vegetables. Allow to blister for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender.
3. Add the remaining olive oil and the rest of the ingredients.
4. Blend until chunky.
For the guacamole:
3 avocados, roughly chopped
2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Make the guacamole just before serving: coarsely mash the avo, fold through the other ingredients and season.
For serving:
1 cup coriander leaves
Lime wedges
2 green chillies, finely sliced
Serve the tortillas with the fillings and condiments all in separate bowls.
Also Read: Holy Guacamole!
Tip
Chipotle is dried, smoked jalapeno chilli. Masa harina is a special corn flour. You can buy both at speciality grocery stores, or use chilli sauce and ready-made tortillas.
You can’t have tacos without… margaritas
300ml mezcal
150ml fresh lime juice
75ml simple syrup
Ice cubes
Lime wedges and slices
4T coarse salt
1 Add the alcohol, lime juice and simple syrup to a large jug with ice cubes, and stir well.
2 Rub the rim of each glass with a lime wedge. Sprinkle salt on a plate and dip the rims in the salt.
3 Pour the margarita mixture into the glasses and garnish with a slice of lime.
Recipes and styling: Chiara Turilli
Photos: Samantha Pinto
Assistants: Sean Dollery, Nicola Naudé, Jezza-rae Larsen
For other Mexican recipes, see the December issue of Getaway magazine, on sale from Monday 18 November.
