Sunday 18 March 2012

Carnitas and Green Salsa

 




 



 

We have become devotees of Mexican and Tex-Mex food. It's so fresh, so casual. so tasty and extremely popular with ALL of us. Our two boys are very adventurous with food (we take credit for training their palates - applause please). They enjoy lots of stuff most kids would not even try. One likes natural oysters - the other likes capers, one likes cooked vegetables - the other likes salads, one likes nectarines - the other likes strawberries. Are you noticing a pattern here? Yes, that's right, they are both great eaters, but they tend not to like the same things. This is where Mex and Tex-Mex food makes feeding my family a breeze. Everyone likes everything. Yay!

Carnitas
from Lisa Fain's The Homesick Texan Cookbook
Serves 4 to 6

1.5kg of boneless pork shoulder, cut into 4cm dice (make sure there is a good amount of fat left on the pork otherwise the finished dish will be too dry)
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/4 lime juice
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt flakes, plus more to taste

Place the pork in a large, heavy-based casserole. Add the orange jiuce, lime jiuce, garlic, cumin, salt, and enough water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered on low for 2 hours. Do not touch the meat.

After two hours, turn heat up to medium high, and continue to cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the pork fat has rendered (about 45 minutes). Stir a few times, to keep pork from sticking to bottom of pan.

When pork has browned on both sides, it’s ready (there will be liquid fat in the pan). 

Serve with Green Salsa, sliced avocados, coriander leaves and Fresh Flour Tortillas.

Green Salsa
adapted from Lisa Fain's The Homesick Texan Cookbook 

400g green tomatoes
1 to 2 jalapenos, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
4 garlic cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup coriander
Sea salt to taste

Put the tomatoes in a small pan and of water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Place tomatoes along with all the other ingredients in to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and add more salt if needed.

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