Pork and Mango Tortillas

One of the things I’m enjoying about living in North America, and I’m speaking from a culinary perspective here, is the availability of Mexican and Tex-Mex style food. There isn’t exactly a huge following of this cuisine back home, unless you can spell Old Elpaso. I love how easy the food seems, how fresh and how there seems to be a real culture of love for the making of the food. If you need a little inspiration, just follow, for a few moments, in the Homesick Texan’s footsteps and be motivated. Nowadays we often have a fabulous, if somewhat messy, dinner of Taco’s or Tortilla’s and it’s such simple, fun food that you can’t help but enjoy it in a child-like, lick the fingers kind of way. I always seem to end up with such an overstuffed Taco that as I take my first bite the whole thing invariably comes apart in my hands in a sticky mass of chicken and salsa and guacamole. I usually giggle the whole way through. Anyway, as one of our favourite restaurants here in TO, a Latin Fusion place, if you will, they serve a dish hysterically named “Pork and Roll” (which always makes me think of those Elvis Presley wall clocks with the swinging legs counting the seconds down) combining a spicy, hot hot mix of pork and pineapple on flour tortilla’s. Super yum, even though I’m not usually a fan of fruit on my meat. I figured a mango could taste just as good and Voila!

Pork and Mango Tortillas
(with Salsa verde, naturallement)

2 fillets of pork (about 400 – 500g total) – finely chopped, about 5mm pieces
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp grape seed oil (or canola)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 medium tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp Lime juice

1 small or ½ large mango, peeled, pitted and cubed
¼ cup chopped Cilantro

Lettuce
grated Cheddar cheese
Salsa Verde
flour tortillas

- mix the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, thyme, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add pork, coating well with spices, and let stand for 10 mins or so.

- heat the oil in a large skillet, add meat and brown.

- Remove meat from skillet, add garlic, onion and green pepper. Saute for 2 mins. Add tomato paste and tomatoes.

- Add vinegar, sugar and lime juice and cook until tender, about 10 mins. Replace pork and simmer until pork is cooked through.

- Stir in mango and cilantro and remove from heat.

- serve in tortillas with lettuce, salsa and cheese.