Coconut-Lime Pork Tacos

Yikes, it's been a small lifetime since I last popped in here.

I thought I had been cooking, but I guess I've just been eating a lot of basic things. Basic isn't bad but it's always nice to get a little adventurous. I'm always prone to be adventurous on a theme day. When I realized that Cinco de Mayo was sneaking up on me last week, I found a few things that would be fun to try.

Initially I was just googling "tequila" on my favorite recipe sites. I found one of my all-time favorite meals tequila fish. That was a good one. In the end, I landed on these pork tacos from Food52. They won me over with their leftovers appeal ... and the fact it was only going to take about 20 minutes of cooking. Not everything calls for a marathon chopping and stirring session.

These tacos could not have come together more easily. I was really intrigued by the different use of coconut milk as well. I'll have to keep that in mind going forward. The recipe overview indicated that this would take about 15-20 minutes and that was right on par. 

A few notes:
- original recipe // just called for slices of avocado on top of each taco. This is absolutely the easiest route to go - but! next time I might actually make a quick avocado crema or guacamole instead. It would just elevate the tacos a tiny bit and perhaps be easiest in the long run.

- taco tortillas // I found the smaller restaurant size tortillas at the local grocery store and really loved them. It was the perfect sizing. You could eat 3 or 4 of those little babes and still feel great about yourself. I opted for flour because that is what makes me happiest.

- Lime // The whole meal is great but just don't forget the limes. The little squeeze of juice is awesome.

- Leftovers // I proceeded to eat the meat as leftovers for about 3 days. It went wonderful with so many things included on top of naan like a pizza topping. I ran out of tortillas ... and it was quite great. Added mozzarella cheese and was not disappointed.
  1. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and a large pinch of salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until they’ve softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Push the onion and garlic to one side of the pan, and add the cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, and cayenne. Let sizzle in the pan until they’re toasted and fragrant, about 1 minute, then stir well until the onions and garlic are evenly coated with the spices.
  2. Add the ground pork to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up any large chunks of pork and stirring occasionally, until the pork is just cooked through. Season with salt to taste. Remove any excess fat from the pan.
  3. Add the coconut milk; simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened, then stir in the black beans, pineapple juice and 1 tablespoon lime juice and cook for an additional minute or two. Taste and add more lime juice if needed. Adjust the seasoning to taste. You can serve right away, or cover the pan and let the pork gently simmer over low heat.
  4. Using a slotted spoon, divide the ground pork equally among lightly warmed flour tortillas. Serve with lots of avocado and other toppings of your choice.
Shopping List
1 pound ground pork
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pinch Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
1 pinch Cayenne pepper, to taste
2/3 cups coconut milk
3 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, from 1 lime
1 15 ounce can cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
tortillas, for serving
1 1 large avocado, diced
cilantro for topping

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