Hi Everyone! I mentioned in my Cuban Style Pork Roast post that my husband and I wanted to try something new with the finished roast outside of the normal black beans and rice accompaniments. Again, those sides are killer and a go-to, but we just wanted something fresh and exciting!
We recently discovered one of our local Latino Supermarkets, Los Portales Supermarket, and after asking probably a few too many questions (we were giddy with excitement), we found out that there were housemade corn tortillas at the back counter. THEY WERE STILL WARM! swoon. So, tacos it was! I took to Pinterest as I normally do and decided this was going to be my menu:
- Pork
- Pico de Gallo
- Mango Salsa
- Salsa Verde
- Pineapple Mango Hot Sauce
- Avocado, Radishes, Onion, Cilantro, Cotija, Mexican Crema (or Sour Cream)
- Corn Tortillas
- Saffron Rice
- Black Beans
(SEE, I still couldn’t resist the rice and beans!)
Again, several of these recipes are Pinspired but with my own special tweaks. I’ll give everyone the deets now:
STEP ONE: Operation Pork Roast
I used my Cuban Style Roasted Pork for these tacos.
STEP TWO: Pico de Gallo- translated “Rooster’s Beak”? Whatever. It’s delicious.
Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
- 4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 White Onion, diced
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 1 Jalapeno pepper, membranes and seeds removed, minced
- Juice of 2 Limes
- 1/3- 1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Directions
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
STEP THREE: Gimme that Mango!
Mango Salsa is crazy good. This recipe is also crazy easy to make and I recommend you all stop what you’re doing and make it immediately. Ok, ok. Maybe just next time you have tacos. If you’re like me and have struggled with trying to cut around the pit of a mango, look no further than this nifty little how-to video: How to Cut a Mango (like a boss!)
Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 Ripe Mangos, peeled and pitted, small dice
- 1 Jalapeno pepper, minced
- 1/4 Red Onion, small dice
- 1/3 cup Cilantro, chopped
- Juice of 2 Limes
- 2-4 dashes favorite hot sauce (I recommend Valentina)
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Directions
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate at least one hour.
STEP FOUR: The Mean Green Salsa Machine!
Salsa Verde
Ingredients
- 4 Tomatillos, husks removed and quartered
- 2 cloves Garlic, peeled
- 1 small White Onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 Jalapeno pepper, seeds and membranes removed, quartered
- 2 Tbs pan drippings from Cuban Style Pork Roast (optional)- not to be confused with grease!
- 1 small bunch of Cilantro, coarsely chopped
- Salt
Directions
- Add Tomatillos, Garlic, Onion, Jalapeno to a sauce pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil over Med-High heat and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer until vegetables are tender- about 10-15 minutes.
- Drain vegetables and add to a blender along with pork drippings, cilantro and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. Taste and season with more salt or Lime, if you prefer.
STEP FOUR: Fruit with a Punch! Pineapple Mango Hot Sauce
This recipe is from a wonderful website I stumbled upon while searching for a fruit based hot sauce. I’ve had something like this at a local Baja restaurant in town but outside of knowing it had fruit and peppers in it, I was clueless. I didn’t even really know how to search online for it, so the fact I found this website/recipe was sheer luck. You just gotta love some hot pepper enthusiasts. Like everything, I made a couple of tweaks but generally stuck to the recipe on this one.
Pineapple Mango Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 2 Manzano Peppers (aka Apple Chilis), seeds and membranes removed, chopped
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeds and membranes removed, chopped
- 1 cup fresh Pineapple, cubed
- 1/2 cup fresh Mango, cubed
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 2 Tbs chopped Cilantro
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- Salt to taste
Directions
- Heat large sauce pot to medium heat and add olive oil. Add peppers and fruit and allow to soften for 8-10 minutes.
- Add water, vinegar, sugar, cilantro and paprika and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
- Add to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Enjoy!
Adapted from recipe found at: www.chilipeppermadness.com
STEP FIVE: RICE!
This rice is SO easy to make. I’ve only ever done it in a rice cooker but assume (but you know how assuming goes sometimes, so don’t mark my words!) you would just make the rice according to the package instructions with the addition of the spices. 5 ingredients= magic rice.
Saffron Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups Long Grain Rice (such as Jasmine or Basmati)
- Enough water to reach 2 cup marker on Rice Cooker
- 1/4 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- Pinch of Saffron Threads (approx 10 threads)
Directions
- Add rice and water to rice cooker.
- Add spices and mix to combine.
- Start Rice Cooker on White Rice setting.
- Fluff when done.
STEP SIX: Beans, Beans, the magical fruit…
This is a very basic, very traditional Black Bean recipe. Hard to mess this one up!
Black Beans
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs Olive Oil (or grease from the Pork Roast!)
- 1 Large onion, finely chopped
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped
- 10 cloves Garlic, minced
- 8 cans of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ham hock
- 3 Tbs Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1-2 quarts Chicken Stock
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Salt/Pepper
Directions
- Bring large stock pot to Med-High heat. Add oil, onions and peppers and season with a little salt and pepper. Saute until onions start to brown slightly. Add Garlic and saute another 2 minutes but making sure garlic doesn’t burn. If it starts to burn, add a little chicken stock.
- Add black beans and ham hock. Cover about an inch with Chicken Stock. If you prefer, you can do half Chicken Stock, half water.
- Add spices and Bay Leaves. Let simmer about an hour. If ever it seems like there is not enough liquid, add more stock or water.
- When beans are nice and tender and everyone in the pot seems happy, taste and season with additional salt/pepper if needed.
STEP SEVEN: Almost dinner time- final touches!
Let’s get back to these tortillas, shall we? YES! I did some trial and error here and I’ve found that the following procedure works best for me. These tortillas were so good and fresh, they could easily have been eaten as is. I like things warmed up a bit so I…
Pork Tacos
Optional Toppings
- Pico de Gallo (recipe above)
- Mango Salsa (recipe above)
- Salsa Verde (recipe above)
- Pineapple Mango Hot Sauce (recipe above)
- Sliced Avocado
- Thinly Sliced Radish
- Finely Diced White or Red Onion
- Chopped Cilantro
- Mexican Crema (or Sour Cream)
- Cotija Cheese
Directions
- Heat a nonstick pan to med heat, spray with a little oil spray to prevent sticking.
- Dip tortilla in water and put into heated/oiled pan.
- Heat each side about 2-3 minutes being careful not to burn. Set aside wrapped in a clean dish towel until ready to use.
- Place desired amount of Pork on warmed tortilla and top with your favorite toppings.
- Enjoy as is, or serve with sides of Saffron Rice and Black Beans (recipes above).
I’ve GOT to get better about taking pictures! I KNOW! Soon, my friends.
I hope you try all or some of these recipes. They are SO good on their own, but together… GET OUT!
Let me know how it goes! Happy Noshing!
Cook and Kick It 
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