Carnitas a casa

In my former life I lived in Chicago in the middle of Bucktown, a city neighborhood just north and west of downtown. Bucktown was pretty well gentrified by the time we moved in, but vestiges of its former working class/immigrant vibe still remained and made it the interesting neighborhood it was. One of those was a Latino grocery store called Carnicerias Guanajuato, which housed inside of it an absolute gem of a taco stand. If better tacos existed in Chicago, I never found them. For just a few dollars, you could get two or three tacos de carnitas, a braised crispy pork taco made up of various pork "parts." Authentic carnitas can be made up of the whole pig pretty much -- shoulder and rib meat, cheeks, liver, and skin and are often slow cooked in lard seasoned with a bunch of stuff, including orange rind. The meat is served on two smallish corn tortillas, then topped with chopped cilantro and onion and served with lime wedges, salt and a simple salsa verde or rojo. The combination of various textures and flavors within the meat make an authentic taco de carnitas really special and the accompaniments add a freshness and zest... its just awesome. Great, now I just drooled on my sweater.

If you live in Chicago, you shouldn't make your own carnitas at home -- just go to the Guanajuato market and eat them there (its on Ashland just north of Division). You can also buy the meat to go from their meat department, already cooked and ready to go. If you don't live in Chicago there is a decent substitute that you can make at home which is really easy and actually still pretty awesome too. It also does not involve cooking any pork cheeks or liver if that makes you queasy. Or vats of lard, if that also makes you queasy.

Tacos de Carnitas*

serves 4-6

4 lb. bone in pork shoulder, cut into large cubes

1 qt. beef stock

1 large bottle of store bought salsa (I use Pace or something similar, medium or hot depending on your preference)

water

salt

accompaniments:

lime wedges

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

about 1/2 c. chopped cilantro

good salsa verde or salsa casera (our favorite is the Herdez brand, which comes in small cans)

salt

corn or flour tortillas**

*This recipe is adapted from one I found some time ago on a favorite food blog of mine, Simply Recipes.

** After buying a lot of poor to average corn tortillas from gringo grocery stores I have concluded that I am better off making these with flour. By all means, if you can find decent, i.e. fresh that day, corn tortillas then do that. I know el Rey in Milwaukee has good corn ones that are often warm on the shelf when you buy them. I have not found a decent Latino market in the Twin Cities yet.

In a large dutch oven, combine pork, salsa, about 1/2 T salt and beef broth. Add enough water to cover the meat and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook on the stove top for at least three hours, until meat is fork tender and pulls apart easily.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet or other large roasting pan by covering with foil for easier clean up. Remove the meat from liquid, shred into bite size chunks, and spread out on cookie sheet, making sure not to crowd the meat too much. Roast meat for 10-15 minutes (check after 10) until crispy and browned.

To assemble tacos, first warm the tortillas in one of a few ways. The best way I've found is to heat them directly on a gas burner by setting the flame to medium and flipping them quickly to just toast on both sides. You can also warm them in a lightly greased skillet, or worst case scenario microwave them 1-2 at a time for about 10 seconds each. Keep the prepared tortillas warm on a covered plate or other basket.

Place a small amount of meat on each tortilla, and then top with chopped onion and cilantro, a shake of salt, a squeeze of lime, and a dollop of salsa. Buen Provecho!

Roasted Salad Nicoise

I should first confess that I am writing this under some duress. I thought Harris was napping, but as it turns out, I can now hear him yelling from his crib for me to "come see his trick!" I can only assume that his trick is not him laying peacefully in his bed and it actually might involve something gymnastic in nature. So I should hurry.

Anyway, to me a salad nicoise is a great entree salad because it has the rare combination of being healthy (all "good fats" - olive oil and tuna, also rich in omega threes) and is filling at the same time. If you manage to have moderate intake of bread and red wine along with it (both very French and perfect accompaniments if you ask me), you have succeeded! I have modified this salad from ones I have seen in cookbooks in a few ways. First: the tomatoes, green beans, and potatoes are roasted in salt, pepper and olive oil over a high heat to carmelize them and draw out additional flavors. In a classic or typical preparation, the potatoes and green beans are boiled or steamed and in my opinion can be a bit boring. Especially in winter, I think the smaller grape tomatoes taste better with a little high heat roasting. Next: I use good tuna packed in olive oil. This is much tastier than tuna packed in olive oil in my opinion (thank you for the tip Mom!) Finally, I also toss the greens in dressing before assembling the salad, which lets you get that good dressing onto the lettuce, which needs flavor, rather than the accompaniments, which are already well seasoned.

So I guess this salad is definitely not a "authentic" preparation, but I like these little changes. I think its actually an improvement over the very average nicoise I had at a cafe right outside the Eiffel Tower, but to be honest that wouldn't take much. Feel free to make your own additions or double the portions if you are serving to friends!

Roasted Salad Nicoise (serves 2)

1/2 medium head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

1 can tuna packed in olive oil, mostly drained of olive oil but not rinsed

10-12 grape tomatoes

Approx. 1 cup green beans

10-12 small red potatoes (halved or quartered if necessary so each potato is in approximate bite size piece)

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced in halves or quarters

nicoise or kalamata olives

optional: capers, anchovy fillets, or red onion slices

2-4 T olive oil (divided) and salt and pepper (for roasting vegetables)

Dressing:

2 T. lemon juice

4 T. olive oil

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1-2 T grated parmesan cheese (0ptional)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, toss potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper until well coated. Pour onto one end of a cookie sheet. Then toss green beans in the same bowl with olive oil and salt and pepper and place on a separate section on the same cookie sheet. Roast these vegetables in the oven for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, similarly toss grape tomatoes in the bowl with a little more olive oil and salt and pepper. When the potatoes and green beans are almost done (they will have browned with a nice crust), remove the hot cookie sheet and add the tomatoes to the cookie sheet and keep separate from the other veggies if possible. Continue to cook in the oven for just a few minutes more, until tomatoes have softened just a bit (maybe two or three minutes). If you overcook them they will burst and juice out onto the cookie sheet. When vegetables are done, set pan aside to cool.

Meanwhile, mix all dressing ingredients well in a covered jar and shake well. Toss greens with the salad dressing (you may not need all the dressing, so start by tossing greens with half and add more if necessary) and arrange the dressed lettuce on two separate plates or large shallow bowls if possible. Assemble remaining ingredients on top of the lettuce (tuna, green beans, tomatoes, olives, potatoes and eggs, and capers, anchovies or red onion if desired). Finish the salad with fresh cracked pepper and coarse sea salt and serve with a baguette. Bon appetit!