Al pastor pork tacos

If you love pineapple on pizza, Frank Greeff thinks you may enjoy this Mexican pork and pineapple combination. Al pastor tacos pair smoky, chipotle-marinated pork scotch fillets with sweet, charred pineapple. Served in warmed tortillas with a jalapeño salsa, each bite is filled with spiced heat, sweetness and freshness.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  2

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 250 g pork scotch fillet steaks, thinly sliced into strips
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 4-5 coriander roots, cleaned, finely chopped
• 1 tsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp chipotle chilli powder
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6 small flour tortillas, to serve

For the jalapeño salsa

• ¼ red onion
• ¼ cup coriander leaves
• 30 ml jalapeño chilli sauce
• ½ lime, juiced
• ½ tbsp olive oil

For the taco fillings

• 150 g pineapple flesh, in large pieces (see Note)
• 1 avocado
• ½ lime, juiced

Marinating time: overnight (if possible).

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the pork strips, garlic, coriander roots, ground spices, a pinch of salt, pepper and the oil. Mix well to combine and refrigerate overnight to marinate. This can be cooked immediately if you’re pressed for time.
2. Remove pork from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
3. While the pork comes to room temperature, make the salsa. Finely chop the onion and coriander, then combine in a medium bowl with the chilli sauce, lime juice and olive oil. Season to taste, then set aside.
4. Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue over medium-high heat and grill the pineapple until lightly charred. Remove from the heat and cut into bite-sized pieces.
5. Cut the avocado into chunks, then mash in a medium bowl with a fork until chunky. Stir through the lime juice and season to taste with salt.
6. Return the chargrill pan or barbecue to the heat, then grill the pork for 3 minutes per side, until cooked through and lightly charred.
7. Warm the tortillas in a dry frying pan or in the microwave, until soft and pliable. Bring the salsa, charred pineapple, crushed avocado, grilled pork and tortillas to the table and allow everyone to build their own al pastor pork tacos.

Note

For the pineapple, remove the skin and then cut into lengthways pieces, removing the core, before grilling.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.