Sunday Night Carnitas

Chipotle Cinnamon Carnitas Tostada
Saffron Parsnip Puree
Yellow Rice and Pigeon Peas with Fresh Avocado

I had been craving some really stellar slowly braised pork carnitas. So why not make it myself?

I de-boned a small pork shoulder and roughly cut up the pieces. In a heavy cast iron pot I braised it with bay leaf, onion, garlic, cinnamon sticks, fresh chipotle in adobo, and the bone from the shoulder. After about 2 hours I was left with tender delicious meet and a thick sauce. I separated the meat and reduced the porky chipotle sauce while skimming away the fat layer. I added more onion and a heaping amount of chopped scallions.

I fried up the meat to make it crispy and the poured the reduced sauce over it.

For my sides I boiled parsnips with vegetable stock and saffron, then pureed them.
The rice was a box mix of spanish rice and pigeon peas. I added more fresh green peas into the mix.

To plate, I took a small tortilla and toasted it in a pan with some oil and added jalapeno queso on top. I layered the carnitas and sprinkled freshly chopped cilantro.

You can see the final result. The carnitas were amazing, spicy and sweet from the cinnamon. The fresh avocado was actually a really nice combination with the saffron parsnip puree.