Mexican Food - La Segunda Parte

After the success of the Chilorio Burritas I made, I was ready to take on another recipe by Pati Jinich.  I think of Pati as a modern day Mexican Julia Child, if you will.  She has a flair for cooking that brings together common ingredients into a symphonic blend of flavor, texture and hearty goodness in a truly delicious dish.  

When I looked up the recipes on Pati's website, I was intrigued by a recipe for Pork Tenderloin in a Sweet Citrus Sauce. It involved marinating the tenderloin in orange juice, lime juice, vinegar and spices for 24 hours.  The kicker: it had to be marinated and then cooked in banana leaves.  So off I went to procure the ingredients.  I bought the tenderloin at my local Costco.  Whenever a recipe calls for orange juice, I use Florida's Natural with Most Pulp.  I always use raw apple cider vinegar, not the distilled kind.  I scored with the limes as I found them available at 19 cents each!  I couldn't easily find piloncillo, so I used jaggery instead.  Now for the banana leaves.  Those were more challenging to find, but I finally managed to get a package of frozen banana leaves at an Asian store.   

Upon reading the recipe for the second time, I began to wonder if the ingredients would render enough flavor.  5 lbs of tenderloin only required 3/4 tsp black pepper and not a whole lot else.  I upped the flavor by using a smaller tenderloin and more flavoring ingredients.  I served the sliced pork tenderloin between a cut up torta roll, with some fresh pico de gallo.  Delicioso!   

If you try this recipe, be warned that it requires some planning and time.  It doesn't take much prep time, but plan for the marination and cooking.  Here are some additional tips:

•  Thaw the frozen banana leaves for about an hour in room temperature.  
•  Marinate the meat in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours before cooking, for best flavor
• Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking.  This will take an hour or two.
• The additional salt and pepper is used for lightly crusting the tenderloin before sear 

As always, feedback is very much appreciated. 

¡Buen provecho


PORK TENDERLOIN IN A SWEET CITRUS SAUCE
Lomo de Cerdo con Salsa Dulce de Citricos 

2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup lime juice
6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup shredded piloncillo, jaggery or brown sugar
8 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
5 bay leaves
4 whole banana leaves
2 lbs pork tenderloin
Additional 1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
Additional 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp safflower or corn oil


To make the marinade: mix together the orange and lime juice, vinegar, piloncillo, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaves in a bowl.  

Begin to layer the banana leaves in a large baking dish, alternating horizontally and vertically.  Place the meat in the middle of the leaf bundle.  Pour the marinade on the top and cover  the meat with each of the banana leaf layers on all sides.  Marinate overnight in the refrigerator, turning the meat over every 2 hours during the marination process.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Unwrap the pork from the banana leaves.

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Sprinkle the pork with the additional salt and pepper, place it in the pan, and sear thoroughly on all sides until well browned.

Place the tenderloin back in the banana leaves and bundle it again.  Bake the wrapped pork into the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  When done, carefully open up and unfold the banana leaves.  Remove the meat from the dish to rest on a cutting board.  Pour all the marinade into a saucepan and set over medium high heat, for about 10 to 15 minutes, to reduce to 1/3 of its volume.

Slice the meat at about 1/2" thickness or thinner if you prefer.  Place the slices on a platter, drizzle some of the sauce on top and serve.

Simplifying Indian Cuisine

Indian food is believed to be too complicated to cook, and not without reason I suppose.  There is a lot of prep work that goes into creating a dish.  Finely chopped onions are an integral part of a dish, as are ginger, garlic and freshly ground spices.  But not all Indian food necessarily has to include all these components.  Think if you will in terms of Thanksgiving dinner and then compare that to what you would normally fix for dinner.  The same can be accomplished when you think Indian food.  All you need are a few ingredients and a little imagination.

I have a few quick and easy recipes up my sleeve.  Some of these are my own, while others have been shared with me from wonderful people to whom I will be forever grateful.  In an effort to pay it forward, I am sharing with you one of my recipes that I think is almost ridiculous in its simplicity to make.  The main ingredient is a staple in my pantry, Pickle Masala.  It is available in any Indian grocery store. My favorite brand is "Deep", and is a combination of split mustard, split fenugreek, red chile, cumin and other spices.  By the way, the brand name Deep is pronounced with a soft d, and means "oil lamp".  Back to what I was saying - a few spoons of pickle masala, some raisins, a splash of white vinegar added to chicken is all it takes.  The result is almost magical.  If you find it too spicy, you can add half a cup of chopped onion to tone it down.   Also, be warned that the fenugreek renders a slightly bitter flavor that is an acquired taste, to be sure.  You can add more raisins to neutralize the bitterness.  

Please feel free to critique this recipe if you try it.  Good luck! 


"PICKLE MASALA" CHICKEN

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1inch pieces
2-3 tbsp pickle masala (more if you can handle it)
1 tbsp black raisins
2 tbsp + 3 tsp white vinegar
2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional) 2 tsp coarse salt
Chopped Cilantro to garnish

• Wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  
• In a blender, grind pickle masala and raisins with 2 tbsp vinegar into a smooth paste.  
• Marinate the chicken in this paste for about 1/2 hour.
• Heat the oil in a fry pan.  
• If using onions, fry them in oil until golden brown.  
• Add chicken and salt.  Cook on high heat, stirring together, for 10 minutes.  
• Lower the heat and cook covered for about 15 minutes.  
• Turn up heat again and cook, stirring constantly until excess liquid has evaporated. 
• Turn off the heat and let the dish sit for about an hour to cool.  
• Stir in remaining 3 tsp white vinegar. 
• Garnish with cilantro.  
• Serve with white rice or hot chapattis.