In our humble opinion, there is a serious and shameful lack of sodas made with real sugar available in America today. When we were in Argentina last year, among the most (of many) pleasurable experiences was drinking a Coke out of a small bottle and having it taste like it used to. The fact that soda companies in America are now releasing “special” and “old school” editions that contain sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup just lampoons this ridiculous situation.

Now, we’re not exactly giant soda drinkers, and when we do indulge, we tend to go for things like San Pellegrino’s limoncita, except of course when we’re enjoying Mexican tortas (sandwiches) for lunch at the Mexican-run deli on our Brooklyn block. Then, we will always get a nice cool bottle of Jarritos, and most commonly, the flavor is pineapple (piña). Imagine our delight then, when we were recently invited to sample all 11 varieties of Jarritos.

Since 1950, Jarritos (meaning “little jars/jugs”) have been making a bevy of sodas that are as varied in flavor as they are brightly colored. Less carbonated than typical American sodas, and due to their containing actual sugar, they can taste a little over sweet and syrupy to the modern American palate. It’s a sweetness I happen to enjoy, and so I’m delighted that Jarritos is now challenging the US soda behemoths and selling their drinks over here too. And, to further sweeten the pill, as it were, Jarritos are, for a limited time, holding the JarritosNation! contest, in which you can gather points from each bottle of Jarritos soda to win digital cameras or a trip to Hawaii, which is strange given that Jarritos is made in Jalisco, Mexico.

Of course, slurping one down with a chorizo, ham and guacamole torta is one thing, but cooking something imaginative with a highly flavored and sugary soda is another thing entirely. In all honesty, we didn’t make a giant mental leap in using pineapple flavored Jarritos to make tacos al pastor given the pineapple that is central to that preparation. However, it was fantastically delicious!

It’s thought that tacos al pastor are a fairly recent invention in Mexican cuisine, and are a fusion of traditional Lebanese shwarma-type lamb kebab preparations (hence al pastor, meaning shepherd’s style) that the Mexicans changed to suit their taste for slow-cooked pork marinated in vinegar with a smoky pepper sauce. In Mexico, it’s usually found in specific tacos al pastor stands where fat elephant legs of juicy, spicy, sweet pork are shaved off and slapped between a couple of corn tortillas and served very simply with a zesty avocado salsa and a couple of chunks of pineapple.

Pineapple, both sliced and in juice form, is used in the marinade and the cooking sauce for tacos al pastor, and we decided to substitute it in the former with Jarritos piña in order to add some sweetness and pineapple flavor to the acidity of the vinegar that is used to tenderize the pork. It was not clear whether this necessarily added a huge amount of pineapple flavor to the pork at this stage because we subsequently baked it in a roasted guajillo, ancho and pasilla puree liberally studded with slices of pineapple for an hour and a half until it was fall apart tender, but I like to think it played its role in what is, however you make it, a dish made up of many layers of flavor.

There are few things that, when slapped between tortillas and christened with spicy condiments, fail to get me excited. Making it a shame that the vast majority of Mexican restaurants near us have such a limited spectrum of taco fillings. Not that I don’t enjoy carnitas, carne asada, fish or chicken tacos, I very definitely do, but that there is something of a tyranny inherent in this four-point agenda.

Recently, after our meaty dust-up with the Uruguyuan-style tablita parillada, we found ourselves with a surfeit of grilled sweetbreads (aka mollejas in Spanish, aka thymus glands in biology), and were looking for creative ways to use this most succulent of leftovers. Ever the slayers of convention, we sought to break this taco-based tyranny, and gently reheated our sweetbreads combining them with a crunchy, tangy salsa of radish, roasted corn and grape tomato, all wrapped in a blue corn tortilla for a dramatic finish.

In this process, we learned that throughout the South-West USA and northern Mexico, taco stands offering sweetbreads (as well as other tasty fillings including tongue and tripe) are so common you just about fall over them at every corner. All of which made us feel slightly less original in our preparation, but no less enthusiastic about its merits. Indeed, it was reassuring to know that places still exist in this condensed and standardized world where you can be openly and brazenly glandular should the feeling so move you.

One day, not so long ago, a Jamaican grapefruit with a twinkle in his eye spied a sweet and winsome-looking tangerine. A couple of witty one-liners later, perhaps with the aid of one or more adult beverages, the grapefruit and the tangerine fell on each other with inevitable consequences. Several months later, to the dismay of the parents, rather than the beautiful offspring they were wishing for, a misshapen, thick-skinned brute emerged.

However, unlike many ugly ducklings, this beast, try as he might, remained ugly. So much so, that wherever he went, people and citrus fruit alike would holler at him, calling him “Uuuugliii” (pronounced ooo-glee). What these meanies didn’t know was that beneath his hideous exterior, our Ugli was not only attractive and bright on the inside, but sweet and not a little juicy too, and soon began to become famous in his own right for this hidden personality.

Then, one joyful day, much to his surprise, Ugli found himself sitting on a wooden block in a Brooklyn kitchen. Before he had time to comprehend the gravity of the situation, his skin had been removed with a razor-sharp blade and his plump flesh sliced into supremes. Had he still been conscious, I am sure he would have been pleased to know that what remained of him was squeezed and mixed with an expensive olive oil making a kick-ass citrus vinaigrette that worked perfectly as a a sauce for a very simple tapa/pintxo of marinated fresh anchovies (boquerones) and slices of buttery avocado. The End.

Fresh Anchovy, Avocado & Ugli Fruit Tapa

Ingredients

1 package boquerones (flat-filleted, fresh anchovies marinated in oil and vinegar) (about 6oz)

1 ugli fruit, skinned and supremed

1/2 loaf crusty French or Italian-style bread, cut into thin rounds

1/2 avocado, sliced into 1/4inch pieces

juice of 1/2 ugli fruit

2tbsp best olive oil

salt and black pepper to taste

toothpicks

Recipe

Add juice, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until combined.

Spear anchovies, “ugli supremes” and avocado slices with toothpicks and stick to bread rounds.

Drizzle with dressing and serve with a nice dry Manzanilla or Fino sherry.

This appetizer was concocted by me because, well, I was freaking hungry and needed some crunch at that moment. I had leftover mango salsa that we had made for a previous meal and a green plantain that had to be used. I thought about those bags of plantain chips that are sold in the many bodegas here in NYC. They could be used in lieu of potato chips or anything else that could be used with dip. Why not make some tostones (fried green plantains) and use them as a cracker? So that’s what I did. I figure if I’m having more than a party for one (me), these could be a cheap and delicious alternative to the old boring chips and salsa.

FRIED GREEN PLANTAIN “CRACKERS” WITH MANGO SALSA

For Ingredients and Recipe for Fried Green Plantains, CLICK HERE:

Ingredients for Mango Salsa:

• 1 ripe mango, thinly diced



• 2 small red onion, thinly diced
• 1 ripe avocado, thinly diced
• 1 ripe tomato, thinly diced
• 1 serrano, jalapeno or any other type of hot pepper
• palmful of cilantro, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• juice of 1 lime
• pinch of salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

• Mix all the ingredients for the salsa together and allow to marinate for at least a half hour.
• Make your tostones.
• If you are going to top your tostones with a bit of the salsa, only serve immediately after topping them – you don’t want to make them soggy! Otherwise, put tostones out for guests to dip into the salsa themselves.

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Almost every time we eat out at one of our favorite local Mexican cheap-eats, it is difficult for me to resist the crunchy and tasty sopes. These traditional Mexican dish involves fried masa cakes and can be topped with a variety of things – chorizo, beef, chicken, pork, veggies or beans. Some are made small as a sort of appetizer or first course, we make them larger for a main meal (about 6 inches in diameter). If you kind of ‘pinch’ the sides of the masa, it helps some of your toppings stay on the sopes. I really get excited when I know we’re going to make a weeknight meal out of this because, yes, it involves a bit of frying, and we all know how good anything fried tastes, but the combo of flavors and the layering of flavors is really amazing.

One sauce, or salsa, we make often to top our enchiladas, burritos, fajitas and sopes is a delicious tomatillo-avocado salsa. For some of our readers, it may be difficult to find tomatillos, the small green, ‘tomato-like’ fruit with a brown husk surrounding it. They are not green tomatoes, though. Research finds that these beauties never took hold in Europe and the beloved red tomato was taken to Italy where it reigns supreme today. These sweet treasures are used in a lot of Latin American cooking. If you can get your hands on them, I highly recommend giving them a try. Make sure you husk and wash the stickiness off them before you use them!

Please don’t be turned off by what seems like alot of work to make this meal. If you’ve ever made burritos or fajitas, you can make sopes! If you don’t have tomatillos or can not get them, don’t worry, just top with your favorite salsa!

SHREDDED CHICKEN SOPES WITH TOMATILLO-AVOCADO SALSA

(serves 2 for 2 big entree sized sopes)

Ingredients

• 2 cups masa harina
• 1 cup warm water (may need less)
• pinch of salt
• vegetable or corn oil or frying
• 1 large chicken breast or 2 medium sized ones (with or without skin – just take skin off after you boil)
• 1 onion, sliced in 1/2” half moons
• 1 green or red pepper, cut in half and sliced into 1/2” slices
• 1 minced clove of garlic
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 scallions, sliced
• cilantro
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
• salt
• 1-2 cups of our beans with chorizo and cumin (you can make these without the chorizo as well)
• sour cream as a topping
• cojita, shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese as a topping
• tomatillo-avocado salsa for topping (SEE BELOW)

What to do:

1. Boil some water and cook your chicken breasts for 12-15 minutes or until it is not pink inside. How long you boil it for will depend on how big the piece is.
2. Make your tomatillo-avocado salsa (see below).
3. Start making your beans w/ chorizo and cumin if you choose to.
4. In a bowl, add your masa. a pinch of salt and the water. You want it to be thick, not like pancake batter. If you need to add water, add more. If you feel like it’s too thin, add more masa. You will want to shape them and fry them about the same time (I’ve found that the dried masa sometimes doesn’t stick together as well as I’d like it to). Reserve this in the bowl until you’re ready to fry your cakes.
5. When your chicken breasts are cooked, allow to cool and then shred using your hands or a fork. Keep handy so you can add them at the end of Step 5.
6. In a pan on medium, saute your onions and pepper in some olive oil. Add your minced garlic. After 4 minutes or so, add your shredded chicken breasts and your spices (cumin, chipotle powder and some salt if necessary). Add the juice of half a lime and stir. Allow to warm the chicken back up, then turn on low to keep warm.
7. Now, it’s time to fry your sopes. Take a lump of masa/water mixture and push it down so it’s about 1”-1 1/2” thick in a circular shape. It does NOT have to be perfect. If you can pinch the sides of it up a bit, this could help your topping from moving. Many times I do not do this, so don’t worry if you just have a disc-like masa cake. Usually mine end up being anywhere between 4″ to 6″ in diameter.
8. Heat your oil up so it’s in frying-mode, making sure the oil level is about 1” to 2” deep. When oil is hot, using a spatula, slowly slide your sopes into the oil. After 1 1/2 minutes check it to see if you can turn. You want them to be a golden color, not very dark. They get very cruchy even if they do not look that brown.
9. Remove from oil and allow to drain on paper towels.
10. Now it’s time to build! On top your your sopes, add a layer of your beans, then a layer of your shredded chicken/onions/peppers mixture and a bit of shredded cheese. Top with your tomatillo salsa, a small dollop of sour cream, a squeeze more of lime on top and scatter some sliced scallions! ENJOY!!

TOMATILLO-AVOCADO SALSA

• 4 tomatillos, husks removed and roasted
• 1/2 ripe Haas avocado
• 1 1/2 cups of cilantro (or two big palmfuls)
• 1 scallion (or 1/4 onion if you don’t have a scallion), cut in half
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon of sour cream
• 1/2 – 1 jalapeno (if you want it spicy), minced
• salt
• food processor or blender

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 457 degrees. Husk, de-stem and wash your tomatillos. Roast your tomatillos on a baking sheet for 10 minutes whole. They will look a bit brown and will be very juicy.
2. In a blender or food processor, add all the rest of your ingredients including the roasted tomatillos. Puree until smooth. Put in a bowl and into the refridgerator to cool down. See, so easy!!

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TORTILLA SOUP (feeds 4)

• 1 hot pepper (cayanne, scotch bonnet, jalapeno, etc.), thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 onion, thinly diced
• 1 teaspoon of chipotle seasoning powder
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cans of spanish tomato sauce (I prefer Goya’s brand)
• 1 large piece of skinless, boneless chicken, boiled in hot water for 10 minutes, cooled and then shredded
• big palm-full of cilantro
• juice of one lime
• 2 sliced scallion
• 4 corn tortillas (can use flour), thinly sliced into strips and deep fried for 2-3 minutes till golden brown ***NOTE: You can cheat and buy a good brand of tortilla chips if you really have to
• GARNISH: extra cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, diced avocado, sliced green olives (optional), some shredded cheese (I prefer Mexican cotija if you can get your hands on it).

What to do:
+ + =

1. Boil some water (or use chicken stock) and boil your large piece of skinless, boneless chicken until cooked – about 10 minutes (depends on thickness). Cut in half to check if it’s done. If it’s not, throw it in the boiling water/stock for a few more minutes. Take out to cool.
2. Heat up your chicken stock or if using the same chicken stock your boneless chicken cooked in, make sure it stays warm (and that you have enough!).
3. Heat up a big soup pot to medium and heat up some olive oil. Add your garlic and onion and cook till medium-soft. Add your diced hot pepper and allow to heat for another minute or two to soften a bit.
4. Add your teaspoon of chipotle seasoning powder to the onions, garlic and hot peppers and stir around for a few seconds, releasing the flavor.
5. Add your chicken stock and stir.
6. Add your Spicy Spanish Tomato Sauce cans and stir.
7. Squeeze a bit of lime in the mixture, throw the palmful of cilantro in and allow the soup to simmer for about 20 minutes.
8. **OPTIONAL STEP – Feel free to use some store-bought tortilla chips if you really dont’ have the time/means to make homemade ones, but you know how I feel about it! It tastes better w/ the homemade kind.*** Meanwhile, heat up some veggie oil in another pot. Using corn or flour tortillas (I prefer corn for this), thinly slice up some up so that each long slice is about 1/2 and inch wide. As soon as the veggie oil is hot, throw in your slices and fry till golden brown. When done, remove with slotted spoon and allow to drain on some paper towels. Sprinkle with some salt and a small bit more of the chipotle powder.
9. Now that the chicken is cooled, shred the piece into many bits for the soup.
10. Assemble your bowls by adding some of the topping ingredients in the BOTTOM of the bowl. Add some (only a bit!) tortilla strips to the bottom, enough shredded chicken to satisfy, a small dollop of sour cream, some cilantro, a bit of diced avocado, scallions, optional sliced green olives and cheese.
11. Spoon some of the reduced soup into your bowl over the toppings.
12. Add one more squeeze of lime to each bowl and then your final garnishes on top (more tortilla strips, scallions, bit of cheese, cilantro, avocado and another dollop of sour cream). Enjoy this comforting bowl of hearty, spicy soup!

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The recipe is actually one of my originals, although I’m sure there are others out there with similar ingredients. I was probably influenced in my choice of ingredients by Daisy Martinez who uses alcaparrado with virtually everything, and by my version of Lidia Bastianich’s method for braised lamb chops, but I am proud to say that this recipe and its accompaniments are mine, all mine (evil laugh).

So here’s the deal:

Braised Pork-Chops with Lime and Olives

Ingredients:

• 2-4 large pork shoulder chops
• 2oz plain flour
• 1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 hot jamaican pepper/habanero, finely chopped
• 4tbsp alcaparrado (pickled capers, olives and pimentos) chopped roughly
• 1 cup of no salt added chicken stock
• 2tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lime + 2tbsp sour orange (naranja agria) juice
• 1tbsp cilantro (leaves and stalks), finely chopped
• salt and black pepper to taste
• sliced avocado (garnish)

Mashed Yuca with Sour Orange and Allspice

• 1 large yuca or cassava, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
• 4 pints boiling, salted water
• 3tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1 large lime
• 3-4 large allspice berries, finely ground or 3 tsp allspice
• 6 tbsp sour orange (naranja agria) juice
• black pepper to taste

Recipe:

Add the yuca to the boiling water, bring it back to a boil, cover with a lid and lower heat to medium.

Heat skillet to medium high and flour pork chops. Shake off excess, add half oil to pan and then add chops to pan. Brown on both sides – 4-5 mins/side. Remove chops to a plate, add rest of oil and put start sauteeing onions.

As onions start to brown, add garlic, chilli and alcaparrado. Cook for no more than two minutes before re-adding the chops. Turn up the heat to high and add enough stock to almost cover, but not quite, your chops. Stir and cover. When liquid boils, reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes.

After the yucca has been boiling for thirty minutes, test it for softness with a knife. Just like potatoes, if yucca slips off knife, it’s done. If not, keep cooking until it does. Drain done yucca and put back in pan with olive oil. Mash like crazy until yucca is smooth and difficult to mash more. Add allspice, lime juice and sour orange and stir in. Correct seasoning and add chopped cilantro just before serving.

After twenty minutes, remove the lid from the chop pan and add lime and sour orange juice. Reduce liquid to about half of original and add cilantro. Correct seasoning and serve on a bed of the mashed yucca.

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