Did you know that there are close to 60 different varieties of corn in Mexico? Unlucky for us, most of these are not available in Australia. One of the more special one that is accessible however is the purple corn flour. I've used it to make a purple corn tortilla with juicy pulled pork and a spicy tangy aji verde sauce. The recipe for the pulled pork is based on the recipe from Cafe Delites with a link to the original recipe here. It's one of the most delicious fall apart pulled pork I've ever tasted so thanks Cafe Delites, I'll be sure to be making it again!
(c) Second photo from my trip to Mexico - loved the different varieties you can get.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30min prep, 6hrs cooking
Serves: 6
Ingredients
Pulled Pork
- 2 kg boneless pork shoulder trimmed of excess fat
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 onion coarsely chopped
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 1 jalapeno deseeded, stem removed and chopped
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- juice from 2 limes
- 2 ancho chillies deseeded, stem removed and sliced (optional)
Purple Corn Tacos
- 400g purple corn flour - 2 tsp vegetal oil
- pinch of salt
- 400g warm water (and extra as need)
Aji Verde
- 3 cloves of garlic finely sliced
- 1/2 red onion finely chopped
- 5 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 jalapeno chopped
- 1 tbsp habanero chopped
- 2 heaped tbsp good quality mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- salt
- pepper
Garnish
- thinly sliced red onions
- fresh coriander leaves
Method
1. Preheat oven to 120 degrees. Place an oven rack in the lower-middle part of your oven.
2. Rinse and dry the pork shoulder with paper towel. Place the pork in a heavy cast iron pot and add in the oil, oregano, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and brown sugar on the pork. Rub seasoning all over pork, top with the onion, garlic, and jalapeno.
3. Add in the tomatoes and squeeze the lime juices over the pork. Mix everything together until well combined. Bake with lid on for about 6 hours, or until falling apart, basting it in it's own juices after 3 hours or so. Add in the ancho pepper strips during the last hour of roasting (if including).
4. Once the meat is fork tender and falling apart, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before pulling apart with 2 forks.
5. Place the shredded meat back into the cast iron pot, drizzle with sauce from the slow cooker. Add the ancho chillies and allow to grill/broil in a preheated oven on medium-high settings until golden and crispy. Set aside.
6. Make the aji verde by pan frying garlic and onions until softened. Let it cool. Blanch the coriander in boiling water for 30 seconds then soak in a bowl of ice bath. Pat dry and add the softened garlic and onion mixture and the blanched coriander with the rest of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until it's smooth. Set aside.
7. Make the tacos by combining the flour with water, 2 tsp of oil and a pinch of salt. Mix it well together and knead it until it forms a nice soft dough that's not sticky. Divide and roll it into a golf ball size dough balls and flatten by placing the dough ball between the plastic leaves of a sandwich bag that had been cut open and flatten using a tortilla press to form the tacos.
8. Rub oil all over a thick cast iron pan with a paper towel. Heat up the pan over medium heat, cook one taco a time by pan frying it for 30 seconds, flip it until the edge curls and spotty brown for about a minute, then flip again until it puffs up in the centre and for another 30-60 seconds. Keep it warm and moist between damp kitchen towels until serving. Repeat until it's all finished.
9. Assemble by placing the pulled pork in the middle of the taco, followed by aji verde, thinly sliced red onions and fresh coriander. Enjoy!
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