Corn Tortillas and Slow Cooked Pork Tacos

I was going to have tacos. Of course, a lack of good corn tortillas in this country was a bit of a limiting factor but I was determined to try making my own at home and I pictured myself wrapping them around tender pork, lots of delicious salsa and definitely some chopped fresh coriander. Oh, just the thought of them has me thinking of making them again this weekend.

However, the process didn’t go entirely smoothly at first. I made the amateur mistake of confusing masa harina and masa arepa. Both are corn meals made of precooked corn but only masa harina is made of corn that’s undergone nixtamalization (it’s cooked in an alkaline solution) and is the correct one for making corn tortillas. Just to confuse things, the side of the package of masa arepa that I purchased first (PAN brand) states that it can be used for tortillas too. I bought my masa harina from the Cool Chile Co. (Maseca is also a famous brand).

On our first go at making corn tortillas, we pressed them using a heavy pot…quite painfully and tediously. The next day, I went straight out and bought a proper cast iron tortilla press (again from the Cool Chile Co.). Oh, how it makes life easier! Fresh corn tortillas are pressed so quickly and without any effort whatsoever! I can’t believe I’d been buying corn tortillas (sometimes taking up precious space in my suitcase when I was travelling back from the other side of the Atlantic) when they’re so easy to make at home!

Corn Tortillas

Take 2 cups of masa harina and mix with a little less than 1.5 cups of warm water. Mix together to a dough – it shouldn’t crumble (too dry – add water) or stick to your hands (too wet – add masa harina). I read somewhere online that it should have the texture of play dough and that’s truly how it felt. Let sit for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, heat a cast iron or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Take a plastic freezer bag and cut two circles of plastic out of it – they should be big enough to line each side of your tortilla press. Take a small golf ball sized nugget of masa dough and roll it into a ball. Place in between the plastic circles and flatten in the tortilla press (I like mine quite thin – it’ll be about the size of the palm of your hand, I think). Peel off the tortilla and slap into the hot pan. Cook for about 30 seconds on the first side, flip and cook for a minute on the other side, flip again and cook for another 30 seconds. On the final side, the tortilla should start puffing up – pressing down on the tortilla can encourage it. Take out of the pan and cover with a clean dish towel. Repeat with all the masa.

You can eat tortillas with any meal, of course, but it’s most fun to make tacos at home. I slow cooked a lot of pork shoulder the first time I made tortillas, shredded the results and used that as a very simple filling for tacos.

Slow Cooked Pork for Tacos

1.5 kg pork shoulder, cut into chunks
juice from a large orange
2 bay leaves
1 chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a slow cooker and set on high for 4 hours (mine only is set to high – it’s a rice cooker – though I reckon perhaps low on a regular slow cooker for 8 hours is also ok). Take out the meat and shred with two forks or your hands. A lot of liquid would have come out of the meat – I used some of it to moisten the shredded pork. Serve with corn tortillas.

The pork is a bit plain on its own. Better is topping your tacos with some pico de gallo. Or if you’re pressed for time/ingredients, just chopped onions pickled lightly in lime juice.

Pico de Gallo

1/2 a small onion, chopped
1-2 medium sized tomatoes, seeded and chopped
a very small handful of fresh coriander, chopped finely
juice of half a lime
salt

Mix all the ingredients together and then chill until ready to serve (give it an hour, I reckon, for the flavours to meld).

Now you’re almost ready for tacos!

Set out some chopped fresh coriander, a salsa (I’m working on recipes but this was just a good canned salsa verde), perhaps some sliced avocado or guacamole, sliced radishes and lime wedges and you’ve got a taco party! Well, it was just for two in our case but yeah, a party!

The best part is that you’ll have plenty of pork leftover. I suggest frying up some of it in its own lard (the edges go all crispy…mmmmmm) and having more tacos! There will definitely be more taco adventures in my future.

 

Breakfast at La Boqueria…in London

Last weekend, I headed down to South Bank to the Streets of Spain festival to try a free Spanish breakfast masterclass courtesy of the Spanish wine brand Campo Viejo. The Spanish wine company was sponsoring the event and holding a number of free masterclasses on both food and wine that long weekend. They had even brought over a number of stalls from the brilliant La Boqueria market of Barcelona and there was even a pop-up tapas restaurant.

At the masterclass venue, we were welcomed by Òscar Ubide i Marcet, the general manager of La Boqueria, who explained what happened at various hours of the market. And how the working hours for many at the market started early and ended with a breakfast – a breakfast that we’d experience at this masterclass.

Each place had been set with a glass of Campo Viejo cava…apparently the tipple of choice for market traders having breakfast!

Soon, a plateful of scrambled eggs cooked with mushrooms was set down before us and we helped ourselves to the roving bread platter to mop everything up. The only downside was the amount of salt in the dish; it was just a bit too salty though the eggs and mushrooms were cooked to perfection otherwise.

To my surprise, the chef responsible for our breakfast turned out to be El Quim de la Boqueria, of the stall of the same name – I’ve been wanting to taste his food for some time but never managed to make it there. But next time I’m in Barcelona, I’ll try to get there again! Anyway, that morning he explained how he made the dish with its five different types of mushrooms and a sweet wine reduction (yup, made with a Campo Viejo wine).

It was quite a treat to walk out again and encounter stalls from La Boqueria and we may have ended up spending quite a bit on Catalan pork products (my latest thing is the secallona, a dry thin cured pork sausage)! It was a great way to top up our Catalan supplies.

Thank you very much to Victoria at Weber Shandwick and to Campo Viejo for the invitation! Please do bring La Boqueria back to London again!

 

Breakfast Burritos Aren’t Just for Breakfast

Why are breakfast burritos generally limited to, y’know, breakfast time? I love that combination of cheesy, eggy, savoury goodness all wrapped up in a neat handheld package and I reckon it’s suitable at any hour of the day.

I wish breakfast burritos were more of a thing here in the UK; in the States, even McDonald’s serves them (they also have biscuits but that’s a rant for another post)! Luckily, they’re easy and quick to put together. Quick enough for a weekday dinner!

Breakfast Burritos

In a frying pan, fry some chopped onions and perhaps some chopped bell peppers until soft and then add meat (chorizo, breakfast sausage, ham, bacon – chopped), maybe some chopped leftover potatoes too. I used chorizo and some tater tots first baked in the oven. A couple of tomatoes wouldn’t go amiss here and when it’s all almost done, perhaps some wilt down some spinach in the mixture. Salsa and jalapeno peppers are good too. Beat a few eggs together and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Pour it all over the mixture in the frying pan and throw in a good handful of grated cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese. Gently fold together until the mixture is set. Take off the heat.

In another pan or in the oven, heat a flour tortilla or two until warm and pliable. Pile on the egg mixture and fold up like a burrito. Eat with salsa or hot sauce.

And sure, they’re also good for breakfast, brunch or lunch!

 

Two Colombian Restaurants in London

One south-east and the other west! These were my first experiences with Colombian cuisine and I’m intrigued by all their meats and seafood and I need to try more!

The first restaurant was La Bodeguita, situated inside the Elephant and Castle shopping centre. I visited with my friend Roxanne for lunch one Saturday and bizarrely, we had to wait for them to open (much later than stated on their website) and then we had to eat our lunch in a freezing cold dining room (they didn’t seem to have their heating on). Still, we pressed on.

Of course we had to try the Colombian national dish of Bandeja Paisa (£12.10). This was a huge platter of rice, pork belly, spiced minced meat, sausage, fried egg, fried sweet plantain, avocado and a small arepa. This was accompanied by a giant bowl of beans cooked with pork.

I would have been happy with just the rice, delicious minced meat, egg, plantain and avocado. Sadly, both the pork belly and sausage were overfried and much much too tough. The arepa (corn cake) was small and too dense but I would learn later that this seems to be typical of this kind of small Colombian arepa (unless all Colombian arepas in London are rubbish). The bowl of beans were fine but was much too big and we barely made a dent in them.

We also tried their recommendation of Cazuela de Mariscos (£11.20), a creamy seafood stew served with rice and fried green plantains. This was very good, all creamy and flavorful – the only downside was that the dish was distinctly cephalopod heavy. There was the occasional tiny morsel of fish and then the one grilled prawn on top and then lots and lots of what was probably a default frozen “seafood mix”. With some carefully chosen seafood, this could have been a glorious dish.

At the end of our meal, the staff did notice that we were freezing and kindly gave us some shots of aguardiente to keep us warm for the rest of the day!

La Bodeguita
Elephant and Castle shopping centre
London SE1 6TE

In the west, Donde Carlos is a recently opened restaurant on Goldhawk Road (I’d heard that previously they were in the back of a shop nearby?). It looks a bit like a conservatory in the front, which is great for those of us who like lots of light with our meal! Blai and I visited for Sunday lunch and we were surrounded by lots of Colombians who already all looked like regulars.

Jugos (£2.20 each) – one blackberry and one passionfruit – were delicious fruit juice drinks blended with water (optionally, milk). I had tried one in La Bodeguita but they had not asked me if I’d prefer water or milk and just gave me the default milk (I don’t like milk!).

Unlike La Bodeguita, there were no seafood dishes at Donde Carlos. There are main courses, empanadas, arepas, desserts and even a Colombian breakfast. We tried again the Bandeja Paisa (£11.00), here served with rice, fried egg, salad, pork belly, steak, chorizo, arepa and yellow plantain. Like at La Bodeguita, the little arepa was very dense and not very exciting (I need to try their other larger arepas – perhaps those would be more moist). However, the rest was very good – the fried pork belly and chorizo were significantly better than those at La Bodeguita. The salad was also delicious though I missed the avocado. And that steak? Yum.

Sobrebarriga (£9.50) was the most delicious beef stewed in a homemade sauce and served with rice, salad, fried yellow plantain and another small arepa. The meat just fell apart at the touch of a fork and was utterly fantastic. Oddly, while the rice served at La Bodeguito was a long grain white, that day at Donde Carlos, they chose to serve a very short grained sticky white rice; I can’t seem to determine online what is the norm in Colombia.

We were again stuffed but perhaps because of the more reasonable portion sizes or because I was with Blai or because we said, heck, it’s Sunday lunch, we opted for a little dessert too. Brevas con arequipe (£2.50) were candied figs (brevas) served with a dulce de leche (arequipe). Both were excellent but the combination was tooth-achingly sweet – perhaps brevas with fresh white cheese would have been the better choice. Next time, I’m definitely trying their tres leches cake.

Donde Carlos
143 Goldhawk Road
Shepherd’s Bush
London W12 8EN

Good stuff. We’ll definitely be back to Donde Carlos (filled large arepas! Empanadas!) though I’d have to think twice about La Bodeguita. I do want to explore the Elephant and Castle area a bit more however as there are a few other cozy Colombian and South American restaurants in the area.

 

Pani Puri Night

One box of ready made pani puri shells. One jar of date and tamarind chutney. A box of pani spice mix. Boiled chickpeas and diced potatoes. Finely diced onion. Chopped coriander.

I love putting together this classic Indian snack: punch a hole in the hollow shell (the puri), fill with stuff, dip in the spicy water (the pani) and gobble whole. It’s a good and quick TV dinner!