I’ve decided to broaden the scope of the blog a little, and include Mexican recipes that you may not find elsewhere. (There is some risk as I will be doing the translation myself.)The most common use of pork, in this region, is to cook the whole pig, chop it all up, and serve it in tacos. The dish is called “carnitas”. They’re tasty but if you ask me, a waste of good loin meat.
When we began preparing this pork loin dish (from the state of Michoacán), the butcher asked our maid what she was doing with this particular cut of meat. When she explained, the butcher asked her for the recipe.
One day before:
1 ½ lb pork loin
½ medium onion
1 clove of garlic, peeled
½ cup of white wine
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Place the onion, garlic, white wine and Worcestershire sauce in a blender or food processor, and puree.
Poor over the pork loin and refrigerate in a covered container, overnight.
The next day:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a fry pan, brown the loin on all sides in oil and then place in roasting pan (NOT on a rack). Roast for 35 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the salsa (see below). (If loin appears to be drying out, add a little white wine or water to the pan.) Remove the loin from the oven and spoon a light layer of the mango salsa (which you should have ready by now) over the loin, and return to oven for 10 minutes more.
For the salsa:
2 fresh mangos (this doesn’t really work well with frozen mangos)
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 green chili (a serrano chili is what we use but you may want to start with half a chili and be sure to remove the seeds)
Juice of one small lime
1 tablespoon of honey
1/3 of an onion, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
Place all ingredients, except salt & pepper, in a blender or food processor and puree. Empty liquid into a pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for five minutes. Season to taste.
Slice pork loin and place on plate. Spoon a small amount of the mango salsa over and enjoy.
(Serves 4)
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