Excerpted with permission from breddos Tacos by Nud Dudhia and Chris Whitney, published by Quadrille Publishing 2017, RRP $22.99 hardcover.
https://www.amazon.com/breddos-Tacos-Epic-Edible-Plates/dp/1849497990
Makes 4 servings
6 serrano or jalapeño chiles
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 large bunch of coriander (cilantro), plus a handful of leaves, to serve
1 large bunch of flat-leaf parsley
¼ c. Moscatel vinegar
4 lbs. 8 oz. coarsely ground pork shoulder
2 T. sea salt
2 cloves
1 dried bay leaf
1 t. dried Mexican oregano
¼ t. ground cumin
1 t. ground coriander
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
Rapeseed oil
4 duck eggs or large regular eggs
8 tostadas (take a tortilla and deep fry until crunchy)
4 t. crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
breddos hot sauce, to taste (recipe below)
1 lemon, quartered
Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Put in chiles and garlic cloves and cook, turning from time to time. Chiles and garlic should be soft and blackened in spots. Remove from heat and allow garlic cloves to cool, then peel them.
Pick all leaves off coriander and parsley. Place leaves in blender along with cooked chiles, garlic and vinegar; purée until smooth.
Place pork in large mixing bowl and pour green purée over it. Place salt, cloves, bay leaf, oregano, cumin, coriander and black pepper in spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Sprinkle ground spices over pork. Mix together with your hands and leave to marinate in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
When you’re ready to cook, set large frying pan over medium heat and add marinated pork mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, and taste to check the seasoning. Adjust salt, pepper and spices to taste.
Remove pork from heat and set aside. Warm a generous slick of oil in clean frying pan; when hot, add duck eggs. Keep basting top side of eggs with oil, ensuring they are evenly cooked.
To serve: Place 2 tostadas side by side on each plate and put a tablespoon of pork on each tostada; top with duck egg. Sprinkle with queso fresco or feta, and some coriander leaves, add hot sauce to taste. Serve with lemon wedges.
The breddos Hot Sauce
Wearing silicone kitchen gloves is recommended when making the sauce.
Makes 14 fl. oz/scant 2 cups
2–3 Scotch bonnet chillies
Small pinch of sea salt
2 large T. sugar
Juice of 4 limes
14 oz. tins of peeled plum tomatoes
Handful of coriander (cilantro), chopped
Remove stalks and quarter the Scotch bonnets. If you want to reduce the heat of the sauce, remove seeds at this stage. Put Scotch bonnets into a blender and blitz.
Add salt and sugar and squeeze in lime juice. Blitz again for a moment. Add tomatoes and coriander and blitz again. The tomato taste should fall into the background, with sweet citrus flavors coming through and building, with quite a long-lasting heat.