Mexican Spicy Pork is a recipe I conjured up last Summer. It’s a thick minced pork dish served in fresh green cos lettuce ‘wraps’. The contrast in the texture and flavours is wonderful. It’s a messy yet fun dinner to serve up for all the family, as long as you’re happy with a bit of spice in your meal!
I came up with this concoction when the boyf was trying out a Ketto diet. It was all protein, fats and no carbs – actually harder than it seems. So one hot sunny Summer’s day I came up with Mexican Spicy Pork which we ate in lettuce wraps. It was simply a case of using up some ingredients we had in the fridge. It turned out pretty well and we surprised ourselves with just how tasty it is. You should probably try it out too!
Now we do eat carbs so I sometimes serve up some tortilla chips on the side to add a bit more texture to the meal. For the whole family I grilled up a baking tray of tortilla chips sprinkled with cheese and jalapeno peppers. They loved it! Me? I keep it simple. The pork alone is worth it.
This meal is another of my thrifty dinners. Pork mince is much cheaper than beef (plus we don’t eat beef, so hoorah) but tastier than turkey mince (although if you’re feeling health conscious you could totally do this with turkey). The key is to fry it off for a decent amount of time to get some slight crisp and texture to the pork before adding the rest of the ingredients.
It might not look like the prettiest of meals, but trust me when I say it tastes delicious. Very moreish indeed.
So this is both thrifty and tasty – too of my favourite things.
Mexican Spicy Pork (serves 4)
- 750g pork mince (buy the best quality you can afford)
- 1 large onion, roughly diced
- 2tbsp vegetable oil
- 2tsp chilli powder
- 2tsp cayenne pepper
- 4tsp ground cumin
- good pinch of coarse sea salt
- 2 tbsp garlic puree
- 1tbsp soy sauce
- 2tbsp tomato puree
- 5tbsp double cream
- 1 sweet pepper (any colour will do, I chose orange this time)
- handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- optional: fresh lime, juice only
- large cos lettuce, trimmed and leaves separated
- In a large wok or high sided frying pan, fry the onion in oil until soft and starting to turn golden on the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan fry the pork until it begins to colour and crisp.
- Add onions back into the pan along with the spices and salt. Stir well for a minute.
- Add the garlic puree and stir well, cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree, stir well for 2 minutes until dissolved.
- Now add the double cream whilst reducing the heat to low. Stir until combined.
- Finally, add the pepper and fresh coriander, fold in and cook for 2 mins.
- Sprinkle with more fresh coriander and a squeeze of lime.
- Serve the portions in large cos lettuce leaves.
Enjoy!
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