Mary and Brian's Recipes

Torta Aholgada
Category Mexican
Events:
Ingredients
One 4-ounce piece sourdough baguette 2 ounces hot Puerco Beans, recipe follows 6 ounces hot Smoked Carnitas, recipe follows 1 1/2 cups hot Tomato Salsa, recipe follows 2 ounces Pickled Red Onions, recipe follows 2 ounces Spicy Salsa, recipe follows 1 lime wedge Puerco Beans: 2 pounds pinto beans 2 tablespoons salt 2 ounces lard 3 ounces chorizo 5 strips bacon, chopped 1/2 onion, cut in strips 1 serrano pepper, chopped 8 ounces light beer 4 ounces pickled jalapeños 4 ounces vinegar Smoked Carnitas: One 5-pound piece boneless pork butt 2 quarts lard 1/2 orange 3 cloves garlic 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon oregano 6 ounces cola 1 1/2 tablespoons salt 1 teaspoon liquid smoke Tomato Salsa: 2 guajillo peppers 12 tomatoes 5 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 ounces vinegar Pickled Red Onions: 2 onions (see Cook's Notes) 1 red beet (see Cook's Notes) 3 ounces white vinegar 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper Spicy Salsa: 4 ounces arbol chile pods 5 cloves garlic 8 ounces vinegar 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Method
Cut the baguette open (not all the way), then spread the Puerco Beans inside, and stuff it with the Smoked Carnitas. Cut it in half for better handling purposes, place it in a bowl, and top it with the Tomato Salsa. Garnish with the Pickled Red Onions. Serve with the Spicy Salsa and lime wedge. Puerco Beans: Yield: 3 quarts Cook the pinto beans in a pot with 1 gallon of water and the salt until tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Set aside. Preheat another pot for about 2 minutes and add the lard. Let it heat for another minute, then add the chorizo and bacon. Let cook 5 minutes, then add the onion and serrano pepper and let it cook for another 3 minutes, stirring the mixture occasionally. Add the beer to deglaze, then let it reduce for 5 minutes. Grab the cooked beans and add them to the mixture. Let it boil, then add the pickled jalapeños and vinegar and bring it to boil, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and check the seasoning. Smoked Carnitas: Yield: 3 pounds Dice the pork butt into 2-inch pieces. In a pot, heat up the lard to around 350 degrees F (about 5 minutes). Add the pork butt pieces and sear them for about 7 minutes. Squeeze the juice of the orange into the pot, then drop the orange into the pot. Add the garlic, bay leaves, oregano, cola and salt, then turn it down to medium-low heat. Cook until the meat is tender, about 40 minutes, then add the liquid smoke and let cook for 5 more minutes. Strain the carnitas and enjoy. Tomato Salsa: Yield: 2 quarts Remove the seeds and veins from the guajillo peppers. Put the peppers in a small pot together with the tomatoes, garlic and 3 quarts water. Place the pot on the stove and boil them until the tomatoes are fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Strain the vegetables, retaining their water, then put them in a blender. Add some of the vegetable water, covering the vegetables halfway, then add the salt, oregano, cumin, pepper and vinegar. Blend together and check the seasoning. Pickled Red Onions: Yield: 8 ounces Cut the onions in juliennes, then put them in a mixing bowl. Cut the beet into chunks and add them to the bowl. Add the vinegar, oregano, salt, cumin, pepper and 3 ounces water. Cover and let them sit overnight; check the seasoning. Spicy Salsa: Yield: 12 to 16 ounces Put the chile pods, garlic and 1 quart water in a pot and boil for 10 minutes. Strain the chile pods and garlic, reserving the water. Blend them with the vinegar, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper and 8 ounces of the cooking water. Pass the mixture through a strainer. It is ready to spice up your life.
Notes
For the Puerco Beans: if you cook the beans in a pressure pot, it only takes 30 to 35 minutes for them to be ready. You can have these beans as a side for any traditional Mexican plate. They are delicious. You can use the Smoked Carnitas to make tacos, quesadillas, etc. or just eat them as a entree with any side of your choice. They pair perfectly with pickled onion, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños, or any of your favorite Mexican salsas. The Tomato Salsa is great to make with chilaquiles, too. For the Pickled Red Onions, you can use white, yellow or red onion; at the end of the day the flavor of the ingredients will take over. Red beets are just for coloring purposes; you don't have to use them if you don't want them to have a strong red color. If you want to make it spicy, you can add diced habanero and use it as a salsa for tacos. It will pair perfectly with most Mexican pork dishes. The Spicy Salsa is very spicy; use it carefully. This salsa can be used in anything you want to give a spice kick, such as soups, tacos, burritos, etc.
Rating: Unrated