We make tacos more than any other meal and never tire of them. Especially when we make our own tortillas. They are hands down the favorite meal around here, and we have found ourselves in the tradition of eating them before we leave for big trips, and when we return. They serve as a send off, welcome home and everything in between. These tacos combine a few of the tastes I’ve been noticing in recent tasty bowls of pork ramen noodles at restaurants with our favorite tried and true taco accompaniment. We ate maple-balsamic glazed pork chops the previous night and saved about 1 whole, thick pork chop for this recipe. The pork is from Cosmic Apple Gardens and is exceptionally, wonderfully tasty. The mustard greens and maitakes stand out as much as the homemade tacos and pork in this recipe, the balance is meaty, but sweet and slightly bitter from the greens. In general a damn tasty taco.
Balsamic-Miso Pork Tacos with Maitakes + Mustard Greens
1 whole cooked pork chop (or other cut of pork), cut into small pieces
1/4 white onion, chopped
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
3 mustard green leaves, lower stems removed, chopped
1 handful maitake mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp syrupy, thick balsamic vinegar
Butter, olive oil, coconut oil or lard (we used lard my mom rendered from pigs we raised)
1 tsp Miso paste or powder
1/2 tsp tamari
Sesame seeds
Sea salt
Masa harina
Limes
Whole milk yogurt
Method: If you are making your own tacos, mix 1 cup masa harina with 1/2-1 cup water and a bit of sea salt, cover in plastic wrap and chill for about 20-30 minutes (we don’t always let them chill quite this long and have good results). If you have a buddy, put them on tortilla press, fry, make duty. Keep the tortillas warm in the oven.
Heat a skillet to medium-high heat, add the onions and cook for a few minutes, Add the ginger, stir, and after a few moments add the mustard greens, drizzle with lemon + sea salt. Add the mushrooms. From here you get to use some of your own measurements and adjust to your liking–add a pinch of miso, balsamic, and a tiny amount of tamari. I like to add add liquid directly to the cast iron pan, so it evaporates some and caramelizes and then coats the veggies. Stir everything together, add some sesame seeds, and cook until the veggies have a nice color to them and taste done. Push the veggies to one side of the pan, and add the pork-the skillet should be quite hot. Add just a little bit more miso and balsamic on the pork (this pork should be pre-seasoned). Cook until the pork is browned and the fat is a bit crisped.
Assembly: Place the pork and veggies on the fresh tortillas, top with a spoonful of yogurt (or sour cream/creme fraiche/etc) add a sprinkling of sesame seeds and drizzle with a bit of lemon juice.