Tinga Tinga

I'm certainly on a Mexican kick at the moment. Between discovering Rick Bayless' fantastic show on PBS and a Mexican market down the road, I have been all over this. Tacos, enchiladas, meats, beans, you name it, I'm into it. And I plan to continue that path. It's the food I truly miss from Arizona, the pure, unadulterated foods of Mexico. I'm not saying that the Midwest does not have some good food, because they do, but there is so much culture and passion behind Mexican food that I just love.

Such is the case with this recipe for pork tostadas. It's inspired from a recent recipe in Cook's Illustrated, who also seem to be on a Mexican kick lately. It's a pretty simple recipe, it makes a ton, and you can do amazing things with the leftovers (next post). I will say that I did not fry my own tostadas, I instead bought them to save time and oil. Mission seems to be the favorite in the grocery stores, but I recommend getting them from a Mexican market if you can. Just make sure to look at the ingredients. It should read something like "corn, water, salt" or be less than five ingredients. If it's more, walk away. Just walk away. Quality is everything here people.

There is a lot more I can talk about with these, but I just hope you give them a try for dinner one night next week, you will not be disappointed. I halved it when I made it, but this is double my recipe for a family.

Shredded Pork Tostadas
Serves 4-6

2 pounds pork butt, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 onions, 1 roughly quartered and 1 chopped
6 garlic cloves, 3 peeled and smashed and 3 minced
6 sprigs fresh thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (15oz) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

1 teaspoon cumin

2 bay leaves
1 cup water

For the tostadas
tostadas
shredded cheese (queso fresco, cojita, or mild feta)
cilantro

sliced avocado

sour cream
salsa

In a large pot, bring pork, quartered onion, smashed garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 6 cups water to a simmer over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam that comes to the surface. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium low, partially cover, and cook until pork is fork tender, 60-80 minutes. Drain pork, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Discard the onion, garlic, and thyme. Return pork to pot (no heat) and smash with a potato masher until roughly shredded. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, cook for about 30 seconds, then add pork and dried oregano, mixing and then pressing the pork down into the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally (flip the pork over) until the pork is well browned and slightly crisp, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomato sauce, reserved cooking liquid, chile powder, cumin, and bay leaves; simmer until thick and most of the liquid has evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Discard bay leaves, season with salt.

To serve, spoon pork onto tostadas, top with avocado (or guacamole), cheese, cilantro, and any other fresh toppings you desire. Enjoy.