Delicioso
Slow-simmered pork carnitas, served on home-pressed corn tortillas with
fresh
guacamole', lettuce and queso fresco.
A few
notes on the fine meal above, although the photo speaks for
itself:
1) The key to the carnitas is it's simplicity: A few high quality
ingredients and lots
of time and care. You
begin with about 3 or 4 pounds of Boston butt, cubed
and trimmed
of fat, simmered in water with salt,
onion
and bay leaf for 1-2 hours, drained and then fried in it's remaining
fat with chopped
onions,
tomatoes and peppers. This recipe was taken from Josefina
Howard's absolutely essential (and now
out of print) Rosa Mexicana Cookbook, as was my staple recipe for
guacamole'. You can find this
book
cheap used, and it's well worth the effort.
2) It is time consuming to whip up a batch of fresh tortillas, but the
difference in flavor between these and
the machine-made variety are night and day. Again, the ingredients are
simple, just
Masa Harina (I use the
MaSeCa brand) salt and water. The chewiness in the finished product is
amazing. I get my daughter to help,
but if you don't have a kid, the time or a
press, hit the local Mexican market. Many sell tortillas fresh, along
with...
3) Queso Fresco! Light, sweet and delicate, Queso Fresco makes Monterey
Jack seem oafish in comparison.
THE perfect cheese for summer tacos.
4) Guacamole: Again, keep it fresh and simple: Avocado, Onion,
Cilantro, Salt, and Jalapeno or Serrano
peppers are ALL you need. It won't last long enough to worry about it
browning, so keep the citrus juice
out of it, and put it to work where it belongs - In your drink.
5) It's not traditional for this meal, but one of my go-to beers is Bridgeport Blue
Heron Pale Ale from
Portland. Awesome.
Add a little shredded lettuce and your favorite hot sauce, and that's
it. Try it, this
meal will truly make
a summer evening special.
Photo and Food by Bonehand
