Happy Cinco de Mayo! Ask me if I like Mexican food and I will tell you that I could literally eat it each and every day. I think the most difficult part of following the Autoimmune Protocol is the nonexistence of nightshades. I love tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos and all of the nightshades in between. Eating Mexican cuisine is a bit of a different experience when you follow AIP but I do feel you can still get your Mexican fix but just in a bit of a different way. In honor of the idea of eating Mexican every day I will be posting a series of AIP Mexican recipes this week. Many of these are staples in my house. I feel like we eat tacos at least once per week!
I’m kicking off the week with Pulled Pork Plantain Tortilla Tacos. I told you in a previous post that my hubby got me a tortilla press and it has changed my Mexican eating life. Seriously! I have made plantain tortillas in the oven in the past but what I love about using the press is you can make them nice and thin and they brown and puff up like the real thing when cooked in a cast iron skillet. I get you may not have a tortilla press laying around but if you love Mexican food the way I do I think the investment is totally worth it! These tortillas also make amazing chips; just cut and bake. The recipe will be coming later this week.
Once you have the shell the next important part of a taco is of course the filling and toppings. For this recipe I went with pork but you could easily use beef, chicken, fish or even veggies like cauliflower or sweet potato. I love anything you can prep ahead of time and using a slow cooker will save you lots of time and mess so you can focus on prepping salsa and toppings. Now that we are on the subject of salsa let’s talk salsa. There is nothing better than a robust, complex salsa that has multiple flavors happening in perfect harmony. Autoimmune Protocol salsa does not look exactly the same but I will say I have been able to move past it and really enjoy replacing the nightshades with fruit such as peaches, pineapple, mango, pomegranate and grapes. The key is to use fresh squeezed lime juice, red onion and lots of cilantro. You won’t miss tomato-based salsa as much as you think I promise and don’t forget the guacamole. Autoimmune protocol compliant guacamole is one of the simplest things to throw together and absolutely delicious. You won’t miss the tomato or jalapenos that are typically in guacamole. I’m also a huge fan of chimichuri. It’s not exactly salsa but is a great addition for topping tacos or dipping chips. Speaking of chips my go autoimmune protocol compliant choices are either banana chips from Whole Foods bulk section, plantain chips fried in palm oil (I only do these when I am bit more relaxed with AIP), homemade plantain chips, tostones or my most recent obsession, plantain tortillas chips! I make extra tortillas in my press, precook then cut into triangles and bake in the oven with a bit of oil and salt.
What makes great autoimmune protocol compliant taco toppings? Some of my favorites include sliced mango, avocado (if I’m not using guacamole), julienne radish, pickled onions, cilantro, red onion, pomegranate seeds, fresh squeezed lime juice, seeds and nuts (not AIP but Paleo), chopped cabbage, chimichuri and fruit salsa of choice. Who needs nightshades when you have all of these options!
If you are in the market to purchase a tortilla press this is the one I have and love it.
I hope you guys enjoy my Autoimmune Protocol Mexican inspired recipe posts this week. Happy cooking!
- 4½ - 5 lbs pork shoulder
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup grade B maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp + ¼ tsp sea salt
- Juice from ½ lime
- 2 medium sized green plantains
- ½ mango
- 4 radishes
- ¼ red onion
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- To make the pork peel and slice onion into thin slice and add to slow cooker.
- Peel and chop garlic and add to slow cooker.
- Slice lime in half and set aside.
- Add chicken broth to slow cooker.
- Mix cinnamon, cumin and salt in a small bowl.
- Place pork shoulder on a cutting board or in a bowl, pour maple syrup over the meat and rub on all sides and sprinkle with seasoning from previous step.
- Add meat to slow cooker and squeeze lime over the top. You can add the lime rinds if you like.
- Cook on high for 7-8 hours.
- Once cooked remove onions, lime rinds, any pieces of fat, bones and set the juice aside
- Shred pork with a fork and serve.
- Place remaining meat back in slow cooker to stay warm and squeeze lime on top. You can also add a little of the left over juices to keep the meat moist when storing in the refrigerator.
- Chop mango, radishes, red onion and cilantro and set aside.
- Begin cooking plantain tortillas when you have about an hour left on the meat.
- Wash and cut plantains in multiple pieces leaving skin on.
- Boil in water for 20-30 min or until the pieces can easily be pierced with a fork.
- Remove plantain pieces from water and peel.
- Place plantain in a food processor with ¼ tsp sea salt.
- Process until a dough ball forms.
- Remove dough ball and roll into small equal sized balls. Make as large or as small as you want. if you don't have a tortilla press you can roll out between plastic wrap or parchment paper. If you do have a press tine with plastic and press ball out to desired thickness.
- In a preheated cast iron skillet lay tortilla down and cook until slightly brown. Flip and cook other side. I like to flip a few times throughout cooking.
- Place cooked tortilla on plate and restart the process. As the dough drys out a bit it will be less sticky and easier to press. I like to take the dough and make all small dough balls at once and then while one tortilla cooks I press the other.
- Once tortillas are all cooked assemble the taco with pork and desired toppings.