Thursday, April 16, 2009

Caribbean Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

I could really use some summer. At this point, I will even settle for spring. I have been trying so hard not to complain about the weather. But, yesterday morning it was blizzarding! In April? Sheesh.
Well, I guess if I can't get the weather to cooperate, I can still pretend that it is warm and start eating summery foods. Like these tacos.
I found this recipe a couple of years ago in Parents Magazine and thought they sounded really delicious. I made them then and have kept making them ever since.
The marinated pork is delicious, but the real star of the show is the pineapple salsa. I love fresh fruit, so I make sure to pick a perfect pineapple and make this salsa as soon as possible. It is really a simple recipe and can be made in a fairly quickly.
The colors are really pretty in the salsa and something about it just makes you think you are on a beach somewhere. Even if you're not. And that is the power of food.
What is one of your favorite spring/summer foods or dishes?



Caribbean Pork Tacos
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb.
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbls. plus 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbls pineapple juice
1 Tbls canola oil
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1 large tomato, chopped
2 Tbls red onion, minced
1 Tbls chopped fresh cilantro
taco shells or tortillas
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, place pork tenderloin, jalepeno, garlic, 1 Tbls lime juice, pineapple juice, oil, garlic, ginger, cumin, and 1/2 tsp salt. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
2. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, tomato, red onion, cilantro, remaining lime juice and 1/4 tsp salt. Refrigerate salsa until ready to serve.
3. Place tenderloin on a foil-lined baking pan. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the center reaches 155 degrees. Cover with foil and let rest 10 minutes. Internal temperature will rise to 160 degrees.
Warm taco shells according to package directions. Cut pork into slices. Place a few slices of pork in each taco and top with salsa.
You can serve lettuce in the taco, if desired.

Coming Tomorrow- Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake with Ina's Peanut Butter Frosting

12 comments:

  1. Hmmm, that salsa sounds delicious, but I'm not a big pork-fan. I wonder if I could substitute it with chicken....

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  2. Your food always looks soooo good. I don't care for pinnaple, but the picture still draws me in makes me want to try it :)

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  3. Blizzarding? Say it isn't so! And as for my favorite spring / summer food - blueberries! I could eat them by the pound!

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  4. Blizzarding?! We had some snow 2 wks ago too...crazy weather! I can't wait for the buttermilk cake tmr..yummy!!

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  5. Blizzarding??!!! WOW - and I thought we had it bad in NY. We just can't get over this rain. What I look forward to most in the summer time is berries and mangos - YUM.

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  6. i love pineapple and love cooking with it, so that salsa sounds just perfect for me! this is great refreshing dish for the warmer weathers! my fav summer/spring dish would just be about anything made with the fresh seasonal produce, but with minimal ingredients so they can really shine!

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  7. These look SO great! I have some pork I need to use up and this looks like the perfect recipe for that.

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  8. This looks delish--I have 6 inches of snow in my front yard and I need a 'springy' recipe. Thanks for sharing!!

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  9. This looks so freshing and delish, I love pork tacos and hmmm, pineapple salsa (excuse me while I wipe the drool off face).

    Bravo!

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  10. Can't wait to try it!! Would the pork turn out as good if I put it in the crockpot?

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  11. Too bad about the snow! The pineapple salsa sounds delicious. I love fruit salsas (okay, I know technically a tomato is a fruit so all salsas are fruit salsas, but you get what I mean!).

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  12. This looks so delicious! We love little street tacos. In fact we had pork tacos was dinner last night~

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Mary Ann