Tag: pork
Tacos Arabes
Tacos Arabes
This is not your typical Mexican taco. Tacos Arabes has its origins from Christian Arab refugees from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq forced into displacement to what is now the Mexican city of Puebla. An estimated 113,000 Arabs had made there home in Mexico in the 1870s. They introduced the concept of shawarma, roasting meat to an open flame upright on a spit, to the Mexican culinary world. Instead of serving the meat in a tortilla, the meat is served on a pita-like flatbread. Originally, lamb was used. But since lamb isn’t very popular in Mexico and is more expensive, the recipe had evolved into pork.If you were to get tacos arabes in Puebla today, you would see a large stack of thinly sliced herb marinated pork shoulder roasting upright on a spit. The meat is shaved off, much like the same way the meat is for a gyro or even tacos al pastor. It will be served with a simple vinegar based chipotle salsa. Since the overwhelming majority of home chefs don’t have an upright spit, you can sauté the marinated pork in a pan for 15 minutes.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork shoulder cut into thin strips
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lime juiced
- 4 tbsp oregano
- 2 tbsp thyme
- 4 tsp vinegar
- 3 tsp salt
- 6 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Authentic Arabes Salsa
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tbsp chipotle paste
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together except the cooking oil.
- Marinate the pork in a gallon sized storage bag for at least 8 hours.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Drain the pork of any marinade juices. Add the pork to the sauté pan.
- Cook the pork for 15 minutes. The pork is done when the onions have cooked down.
- To make the salsa, purée all of the ingredients together in a blender or food processor.
Pita Bread
Pita bread can trace it’s roots over 14000 years ago to the Stoned Age in the Middle East. Today, pita bread is a staple of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. The yeast leavened flatbread dough is rolled flat. The edges are then tucked up underneath itself into a ball. This allows air to be trapped, creating steam to puff up the flatbread and make a pocket once the dough is baked. There is also pita that is just rolled flat and use more as a wrap, such as is Greek cuisine.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp sugar
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together.
- On a floured surface, knead the dough fo 7-8 minutes.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm place.
- Let dough rise for 2 hours. It will double in volume.
- Roll dough out on a floured surface.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces.
- Flatten the dough into a circle.
- Tuck the edges up under into itself to form a ball. This helps trap air inside, making the pita light and airy.
- Roll out the dough ball into 1/4” thick discs.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
- Cook the pita for 4 minutes a side.
Habichuelas Guisadas (Puerto Rican Beans)
Habichuelas Guisadas (Puerto Rican Beans)
Beans with potatoes and pork in them! Don’t mind if I do! Puerto Rican beans contain either salt pork or ham that is cubed. You could use slab bacon or even pork belly if you wanted to. Once the pork is cooked, sofrito is added to the pot. Sofrito is a Spanish style mire poiux that gives the beans it’s flavor. Pink beans are used instead of a pinto or a kidney. There is also potatoes and caper stuffed olives. The beans will need to simmer for about 25 minutes. These beans are usually served with rice.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz salt pork or ham cubed
- 1/2 cup sofrito
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 packet Sazon with Achiote no annatto
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cans pink beans drained
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1/3 cup Spanish olives stuffed with capers
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the ham for 5 minutes.
- Add in the sofrito, cumin, and sazon. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the beans, potatoes, stuffed olives, chicken stock, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Continue simmer for 10 more minutes until the beans have thickened.
Sofrito
Sofrito is used as a base for soups, stews, beans, and rice in many Spanish speaking countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico. It is typically made out of a lot of green ingredients such as green bell pepper, cilantro, green onions, and culantro; similar to green seasoning used in African/Caribbean cuisine. Sofrito adds aromatics to whatever you add it to.Sofrito can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. I like to freeze it in ice cube trays and store in gallon sized freezer bags. You can then keep your sofrito for up to a year.
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 2 small green bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 1/2 cup culantro
- 1 head garlic
- 1 medium white onion
- 4 green onions chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 2 tbsp oregano
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor.
- Purée until smooth. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month or in the freezer for put to a year.
Brazilian Style Pork Ribs (Costela de Porco Assada)
Brazilian Style Pork Ribs (Costela de Porco Assada)
I’m a huge fan of ribs if you couldn’t tell from all the recipes on Stoned Soup. But I’m not a huge fan of super saucy ribs. Regular bbq ribs don’t cut it for me. I’m really about accentuating the flavor of the meat instead of drowning them in sauce. This Brazilian style rib recipe is that recipe. The marinade has a strong garlic and onion base with some cider vinegar that helps tenderize the ribs. I recommend marinating the ribs overnight, but 8 hours will do. I like to first bake the ribs in the oven, just for 2 hours at 300 degrees. I heavily wrap them in tin foil. This allows them to steam. Then I like to brown the ribs on the grill. They only need 6-10 minutes a side. Traditionally, Brazilians would just brush the ribs with oil and nothing else. I brushed them with a little honey and cayenne to give them some sweet and spice. The honey helps create a nice caramelized crust without making the ribs sticky.
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pork spareribs
Marinade
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 medium white onion
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp salt
Glaze
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Purée the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor.
- Marinate the ribs in gallon sized stir age bags for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. I like to cut the ribs in half or 3 bone pieces to fit in the bags easier.
- Prehest the oven to 300 degrees. Line the bottom of a baking sheet with foil. Arrange the ribs on the pan, pouring any remaining marinade over them.
- Cover the top of the pan tightly with more foil.
- Bake the ribs for 2 hours.
- Get your grill hot. Place the ribs meat side down. Brown the ribs for 6-10 minutes a side.
- Mix together the honey and cayenne pepper. Brush the ribs with honey. Place on the grill cover and cook for 5 minutes. Brush on 1 more layer and pull off to the side of the grill, letting rest covered for a couple more minutes.
