Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Pork tacos with Slaw and Spicy Pepitas

A recipe in the most part from this month's Cooking Light, tweaked in that I used pork tenderloin instead of loin chops, and I roasted it in the oven after pan-searing instead of grilling.
If you feel like grilling by all means do that. I also added a touch of olive oil, a little agave nectar and cilantro to the slaw. You can jazz this up any way you'd like to suit your tastes.
I served up the tacos with a side of sliced orange and avocado...beans seemed like too much work last night. :-)


Pork Tacos with Slaw and Spicy Pepitas:

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pork tenderloin
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, divided
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper (I used a whole large pepper)
couple tablespoons of minced cilantro
1/2 (16-ounce) package coleslaw (about 3 cups)
a squirt of agave nectar
olive oil
a splash of cider vinegar
6-inch white or yellow corn tortillas
Greek yogurt or light sour cream
spicy pepitas

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Lightly coat pork olive oil; rub spice mixture over all sides of pork. Cover and refrigerate 2-4 hours.
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine 2 tablespoons juice, bell pepper, onions, jalapeño, and coleslaw in a large bowl, tossing well. I also added a smidge of salt, a bit of olive oil, cider vinegar and a turn of agave nectar.


Over med-high heat, pan sear all sides (~6-8 min. total depending on the size of the tenderloin) in a lightly oiled oven-safe pan.
Place pan in 400 degree oven and roast until a meat thermometer reads ~147.
Remove from pan and let rest for 10 min. The meat should still be pink inside.
Cut pork into ~1/4-inch slices. Combine pork and 2 tablespoons lime juice in a medium bowl, tossing to coat.

If you have a gas range you can flop the tortillas right on the burner and turn with tongs to warm/grill. If not, just follow CL's instructions as follows...

Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Coat griddle with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas in a single layer; cook 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with cooking spray and remaining 6 tortillas. Divide pork mixture evenly among tortillas; top each tortilla with coleslaw mixture, a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream, and a sprinkling of Spicy Pepitas.

Spicy Pepitas:

1 cup unsalted raw pumpkinseed kernels
1 scant tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ancho or chipotle chile pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
a pinch of cinnamon
a couple squirts of agave nectar

Combine all ingredients except agave necar in a small bowl.
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add kernels to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently, adding agave nectar in the last couple minutes.
Remove from pan; cool completely.

5 comments:

Mike said...

Sounds delicious. I love me some pork tacos. And there's something about pork & slaw that were meant to be... I like the idea of the pepitas - probably adds some nice crunch.

Do you think that smoked pork would be too overpowering in this?

Erndog said...

No way! That would be freakin' amazing. :-) *drool*

Mike said...

ok I have a complaint about this recipe. The spicy pepitas are too yummy on their own and I keep eating them out of the container. Oh well.

By they way, the spice mix was good on popcorn too!

Erndog said...

Hey Mike, I'll take that kind of "complaint" any day. :-) Oooooh...popcorn. Will have to try that one!

Mike said...

Yeah - the spicy sweet combo was awesome. You'd better have a movie ready to go though!