My favorite thing at last weekend's Supper Club (theme: new-wave-o Mexican) were Jon and Jessamyn's pineapple and chorizo chalupas. The combination of the fresh fruit with the hot and vinegary chorizo was absolutely killer. They were so good I woke up craving them the next morning. Thank goodness J and J left some of the extra filling--that made some of the most heavenly breakfast tacos EVER.
Jessamyn posted the recipe on her blog so I picked it up to share here. Interesting to note the heavy dose of ground cloves--having eaten it, I wouldn't guess all that was in there.
From Antojitos: Festive and Flavorful Mexican Appetizers by Barbara Sibley and Margaritte Malfy
This makes a very potent chorizo, spicy and vinegary. It works best as a seasoning, rather than a main dish, as a little goes a long way (we made tacos from the leftovers and they were very hot and rich). Yes, there is a ton of ground cloves in this, but don’t skimp!
•3 dried arbol chiles
•7 dried guajillo chiles (we substitued puya chiles, which are very similar)
•½ cup chopped onion
•1 clove garlic, chopped
•1 bay leaf
•½ cup white vinegar
•1 Tbsp kosher salt
•2 tsp ground cumin
•2 tsp dried oregano
•1 ½ tsp ground cloves
•1 tsp ground black pepper
•1 pound ground pork
Layer the chiles, onion and garlic, add the bay leaf, and pour the vinegar over. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for one hour.
Discard the bay leaf. Put the mixture in a blender and process to a rough paste. Add water to thin if necessary. Scrape out into a bowl.
Mix the chile paste with the salt, cumin, oregano, cloves and pepper. Add the pork and mix thoroughly.
Put a dab of the sausage into a skillet and cook to check seasonings, adjusting as necessary. Refrigerate the sausage for at least 12 hours or up to 5 days. To cook, heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and add the sausage, stirring until the meat is cooked through.
If adding pineapple: dice about a cup of pineapple finely. Put in a nonstick skillet and fry until the liquid cooks off and the pineapple starts to brown. Add the cooked chorizo to the pineapple and stir them together until everything is hot.