Li Hing +Citrus Margarita

After living in Italy I am always tempted to throw an “h” in margarita (margherita). That’s not correct.

My parents have lived in the South Pacific since 2010, and one of the first times I visited them I tried Li Hing Mui, a sweet/sour dried plum. Instantly struck my the sweet/sour/salty taste, I spent the rest of my visit trying to hunt it down in convenience stores. It is a pretty common treat.

We went to stay at a resort in Hawaii on the big island (my parents lived in the Marshall Islands at the time) and popped down to the bar for a cocktail. The mango margarita with li hing powder instantly struck me. At first sip, the savory li hing and the sweet mango + tequilla had me in heaven.  I tried to re-create that exact flavor and failed miserably.

So I tried again, this time with my old friend’s grapefruit and lime. The pucker from the grapefruit, tang of the lime, bite of the tequila are enhanced by the li hing powder beautifully.  I added about a tablespoon of simple syrup because I wanted something a little sweeter that day, but it can definitely be left out if you want something more sour and less sweet.

The salt in the li hing powder perfect mimics the salt of a classic margarita, and I shook a little into the margarita itself, resulting in the tangerine color of the drink. Li hing powder can be found on Amazon, and is fantastic sprinkled on fruit and popcorn.

If you are looking too add a new twist to your margarita, give this a try. It is an awesome compliment to tacos, or the perfect drink to sip at a BBQ with friends.  Doesn’t this drink just look like summer? (I acknowledge the rim looks awful)

• Time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
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Sweet, Salty, with a little pucker, the stunning color of this drink and tangy taste is sure to delight your eyes and your tastebuds.

You can buy li hing powder on Amazon.

Ingredients

• Juice from one lime
• Juice from half of a grapefruit
• 1 oz tequilla
• 1 oz triple sec
• 1 tablespoon simple syrup (if you want it a little sweet)
• splash of seltzer water
• li hing powder for rim and drink

Directions

Rub lime on the rim of  your glass and then dip into li hing powder, creating your rim. Mix lime, grapefruit juice, tequila and triple sec and simple syrup (if using) in a shaker or glass  ( I don’t have a cocktail shaker, so I always mix drinks in a glass with a spoon). Once combined, add like 2 pinches of your li hing powder and ice stir again. Top with a splash of seltzer water and serve.

 

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Pork Tacos with Honey Mango Relish

Looking at that title I realize its not the most appealing name I could have come up with. But, that’s what they are. Pork shoulder coated in spices and tomatillo salsa slow cooked all day over a bead of onions, shredded and placed on corn tortillas. On top of that, a fresh mango relish. I realize many people would liken it more to a salsa, but the crunch of radish and the red onion say relish to me.

I had been in the mood for tacos for a few days but could not decide what kind I wanted to make. Ground beef? Steak? Chicken? A trip to the butcher decided for me. We popped into the butcher and waiting for me was this pork shoulder (aka boston butt). Once I laid my eyes on it my taco destiny was decided.

Fruit salsas/relish don’t usually appeal to me. I like my savory dishes savory and my sweet dishes sweet, rarely do I enjoy combining the two (except for the classic salt+chocolate]. However, I had a few honey mangos hanging out on the counter, and figured I would give this whole fruit salsa thing a go. Speaking of honey mangos, where have you been all of my life? I have never seen them before this year and suddenly they are in every supermarket. I’m glad for it, they are way easier to prepare than the mangos I am used to eating.

Anyway, the next time you find yourself wanting some tacos, or need to feed a crowd, definitely give these a try. If you are a savory fruit skeptic, give the relish a go, it definitely made me a convert.

• Servings: It depends on the size of your pork shoulder, we had at least 8 tacos with leftovers
• Time: Approximately 9 hours in the slow cooker, 30 minutes active
• Difficulty: Easy
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Savory pork in a warm corn tortilla topped with a sweet and crunchy mango relish.

Ingredients

For the pork

• 1 bone in pork shoulder/butt roast, mine was about 11 lbs.
• 1 cup tomatillo salsa
• 1/2 white onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (I use pre-chopped garlic from a jar, it makes life so much easier. Probably the equivalent of three large cloves of garlic, chopped)
• 3 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• generous kosher salt
• pepper

For the Mango Relish

• 1 honey mango, chopped into cubes
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 radishes, diced
• juice from 1 lime
• salt and pepper

Directions

The morning (or night before) you plan to have your tacos, prepare our pork. Lay your onion slices over the bottom of the slow cooker. Take your pork shoulder and cut diagonal lines into the fat on the top of the shoulder roast (you could cut the fat off, but I like to leave it on). Place the pork in top of the onions in the slow cooker, fat side up. Put the cumin, salt, pepper,garlic, and paprika on the pork, topping it all with the tomatillo salsa. Set the slow cooker to “low” and leave alone for 8-10 hours.

For the relish, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl at least one hour before you plan to have the tacos.

The pork is done cooking when you can easily shred a piece off of the bone with a fork. Place the pork on a cookie sheet and shred the meat. Feel free to add a little juice from the slow cooker to keep it from drying out. You could also toss come in a hot pan to crisp it up, but that step is not needed at all. To assemble the tacos, warm some corn tortillas over the stove. Add some shredded pork, and top with mango relish. Serve with avocado, lime, and anything else you like on tacos.