Pork Tacos with Mango Salsa

I’ll be the first to admit that the blog posts have been slim pickins’ these days.  When you’re cooking for one (and yes, we are cooking for one these days for anyone who has been paying close attention and reading between the lines), the motivation to cook is slightly diminished….

The meals lately have been a little more like “Sure, hummus sounds good for dinner tonight.”

I really have no desire at all to give this blog up, in fact, I’d like to really improve and expand it as time passes on.   I recognize, however, that it’s going to be slow to get back into the pace of actually cooking on a regular basis again.

From this point forward, I’m setting my new goal for myself – – I would like to update this blog with new material at least once every two weeks.  Even I can acknowledge that letting a month or two pass without a decent post is not a sound, balanced, or well-written blog.  The very few fans that I have deserve better than that 🙂

When I was making these deliciously spicy pork tacos, I couldn’t help but cough just from inhaling the chipotle peppers while they were cooking (of course, I used probably more than I should have…).  I love using chipotle peppers because the heat is more of a “forehead sweating, nose dripping” kind of spice level, rather than a “burn your taste buds off and don’t taste anything for 5 hours” heat.

To make the mango salsa, combine the sliced mangos, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, half of the minced shallot, 2 teaspoons of lime juice, and salt and pepper together in a medium bowl.  For the mango, you can either buy 1 large mango…and then proceed to peel, pit, and dice….OR, you can be lucky like me and have an awesome grocery store that carries them fresh already like that 🙂  That was the option I went for….

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until just shimmering.  Add the remaining shallot, chipotle chiles, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the pork, breaking up with meat with a wooden spoon, until the pork is no longer pink – about 5 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cilantro, the remaining 2 teaspoons of lime juice, the cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To warm the tortillas in the microwave, stack them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.  Heat until the they are warm and soft, about 1 to 2 minutes.   Cover with foil or a kitchen towel to keep them warm until ready to use.

Spoon a small amount of the pork filling into the center of each tortilla, top with mango salsa, and serve with lime wedges.

Ingredients

• 1 large mango (about 1 pound), peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 1 shallot, minced
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• Salt + Pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 12 oz ground pork
• 1 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1/4 cup)
• 6 (6-inch corn tortillas, warmed)
• Lime wedges, for serving

Serves 2

Recipe adapted from Cooking for Two, 2011