Fideo - Mexican Spaghetti
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Begin by preparing all of the ingredients: peel and finely dice the
carrots, finely dice the yellow & green onions, mince the garlic,
and open the can of diced tomatoes. Measure out all the seasonings into a
bowl: the chicken bouillon, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and 3/4
teaspoon cracked pepper (hold off on the salt for now).
Dice the cilantro and juice the lime. Now we're ready to start!
2.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large pot that has a lid. Place over
medium heat. Add the carrot and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add in both onions
and garlic and cook until the veggies are fork tender. Next, add in all
of the spices. Toast the spices for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Stir
constantly (or reduce heat as needed) to not burn the spices. Remove
the veggie/spice mixture back to that bowl you measured your spices in
and set aside.
3.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to pot. Reduce heat to medium
low. Break the angel hair pasta exactly in half and add to pot. Cook the
dry noodles while constantly stirring for 3-5 minutes. I use tongs to
flip/stir the noodles since they're still quite large. Cook until the
noodles have turned golden brown and are slightly blistered. Turn off
the heat. Add in the entire can of diced tomatoes (don't drain),
cilantro, lime juice, set-aside veggies and spices from step 1, and 6
cups of chicken broth. Stir. Turn heat on to medium high and bring the
mixture to a boil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a rapid simmer.
Cook until the noodles are soft and have soaked up most of the broth.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth and
it's ready to serve!
4.
While the noodles are cooking, prepare the toppings. Finely shred
monterey and cheddar cheese. Set out tortilla strips and sour cream.
Chop some cherry tomatoes OR make a quick pico. Set out additional lime
wedges and/or cilantro. Prepare the steak or chicken topping - see the
last two paragraphs in the post for directions.
5.
Assemble by serving up the pasta and broth into large bowls. Add your
favorites in this order: monterey and cheddar first, steak or chicken
next, sour cream, tomatoes/pico, cilantro, lots of tortilla strips,
cotija, and a few squeezes of fresh lime. Enjoy!
CARNITAS (Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Pork)
Instructions
1.
Rinse and dry the pork shoulder, rub all
over with salt and pepper.
2.
Combine
the Rub ingredients then rub all over the pork.
3.
Place
the pork in a slow cooker (fat cap up), top with the onion, jalapeño, minced
garlic (don't worry about spreading it) and squeeze over the juice of the
oranges.
4.
Slow
Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. (Note 2 for other cook methods)
5.
Pork
should be tender enough to shred. Remove from slow cooker and let cool
slightly. Then shred using two forks.
6.
Optional:
Skim off the fat from the juices remaining in the slow cooker and discard.
7.
If
you have a lot more than 2 cups of juice, then reduce it down to about 2 cups.
The liquid will be salty, it is the seasoning for the pork. Set liquid aside -
don't bother straining onion etc, it's super soft.
TO CRISP
1.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large non
stick pan or well seasoned skillet over high heat. Spread pork in the pan,
drizzle over some juices. Wait until the juices evaporate and the bottom side
is golden brown and crusty. Turn and just briefly sear the other side - you
don't want to make it brown all over because then it's too crispy, need tender
juicy bits.
2.
Remove
pork from skillet. Repeat in batches (takes me 4 batches) - don't crowd the pan.
3. Just before
serving, drizzle over more juices and serve hot, stuffed in tacos (see notes
for sides, other serving suggestion and storage/make ahead).
