Tonight we’re having a “last supper” of sorts. It is the last big meal we’ll cook and eat in our little apartment before we bid 2011 goodbye. We travel this weekend, so I know between welcoming 2012 and boarding a plane, we won’t be sitting down for a meal here until we return. We’ll be back on the Epiphany, a big holiday in Cagliari. The star of Bethlehem is lit on the Bastione San Remy. The hills here and domes of churches certainly remind me of the little town of Bethlehem. It is impossible to walk the streets here, see the nativities they’ve set up and not imagine the Christmas story. While we strolled today, blown here and there by the wind, we stopped in a local shop, Il Suq. They sell spices and ingredients hard to find on the island and in Italy as a whole. There are walls of spices, whole and ground. They claim to be bringing the Orient to the island! After today I sure feel like the three kings arrived early- swap myrrh for Mexican spices. Anything improbable, go to Il Suq (Via Napoli in the Marina District- just behind the crumbling old church of San Lucia)! A friend, Ashton, showed me the shop and I am grateful to her each time I stop in. Coming from the U.S. I have a big love for Mexican food (and drinks) so I stocked up today. Tonight we’re having roasted Mexican pork tacos. It smells a bit like home here and with the wind outside- it is great to just be inside!
Flour tortillas are hard to find here, not impossible but I’ve started to make my own! It is easy and they taste so much better. I found this recipe searching the internet and it worked! The first night we ate them plain and warm, right from the stove! My only adaptation is that I use 4-5 tablespoons of butter. The “burro” in Sardegna is too good. Burro means donkey and yes, at first I was skeptical. Just say it out loud to yourself- donkey butter. Truly though, I was a burro believer first try!
The pork I also found online! I love the pork roasts here. They are cut by butchers and netted. I adapted this recipe a lot. There was just too much going on!
5 pinches of red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
2 peppers, I used red- chopped but seeds, flesh, everything saved for broth
½ lemon (or lime)
1 2 to 3-pound boneless pork shoulder (five pounds is a bit big! I was only serving two though!)
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
3 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika (preferably spicy)
1 pinch of cloves (use your nose- you only want a hint of cloves!)
1-2 pinches cinnamon-sugar
12-ounces of beer
Before we begin- let me tell you! Cilantro is NO where to be found in sunny Sardegna. If I could have gotten my hands on some Cilantro, I would have used it. I love it, I am praying for it to come along. Beware though- people who have Cilantro allergies taste soap when they eat it!
1) Place all of the chopped red peppers (especially the seeds!) into a pot. Add top and bottom of onion- the part you usually chop and throw away! Put garlic, red pepper flakes and salt in. Cover with water and begin to boil.
2) Squeeze in juice from ½ lemon and toss the rind in too. Add cloves. Let boil uncover to lose about ½ of the water.
3) Drain through a fine colander so only liquid remains. While the liquid cools- Mix cumin, coriander, oregano and paprika.
5) Using a tablespoon, add liquid to the spices to make a paste. Save broth you don’t use!
6) Rub paste on pork until it is well covered. Wrap meat in plastic or foil and allow to marinate for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator. The longer the better!
7) When ready allow pork to warm.
8) Heat oil in a pot. Add onion and a more red pepper flakes if you like it spicy! Saute for 1-2 minutes. Add reserve broth, bay leaves and cinnamon-sugar. Add pork and cover with beer. Cover pot.
9) Allow to cook on medium for an hour- thirty minutes each side. Then turn to low and cook until pork begins to pull. Remove the meat and pull it, pour cooking liquid through colander and add juice to meat. Enjoy!
I served with flour tortillas, a ball of cold, fresh mozzarella and sautéed onions/peppers.
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| Tacos! |
The tortillas were warm, the pork turned out perfect and we were glad! Now if only I can get free baskets of chips and salsa moving through the house...
My dear Leslie, cilantro *IS* to be found on the island...you just have to know the right person to ask. [that's me. :D] It can be bought fresh at the Metro [that beautiful second haven of foreign foods] and the seeds can be bought as coriandolo if you want to grow it yourself!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I brought corn tortillas back from the States - let's get together on this. :D
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