Tortas ahogadas (Mexican torta)
A torta is a Mexican sandwich. Don't pass this recipe by thinking it's your ordinary sandwich shop variety, however! This sandwich is worthy of a starring role at your next Mexican fiesta. Traditionally served on bolillos in Mexico, this recipe calls for your favourite crusty rolls.
Ingredients
Serves: 12
- 16 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 4kg boneless pork shoulder
- 4 dried chipotle chillies
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 onions, chopped
- 20 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 250ml water
- 5 teaspoons minced fresh oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon caster sugar
- salt to taste
- 12 individual baguettes or crusty rolls, cut in half lengthways and lightly toasted
- 1 jar sliced jalapeno chillies, to garnish
Method
Prep:40min ›
Cook:2hr30min ›
Ready in:3hr10min
- Preheat an oven to 240 C / Gas 9.
- Mix the 16 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of minced oregano, 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper in a bowl. Rub garlic mixture over the pork, and place in a shallow roasting tin.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 180 C / Gas 4. Continue roasting until pork is tender and no longer pink in the centre, about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Cover the meat with two layers of aluminium foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 20 minutes before rough chopping or shredding it. Reserve dripping.
- Place the chipotle chillies in a bowl, and cover with hot water. Allow chillies to soak until softened, about 3 minutes; drain. Set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Stir in 8 cloves of minced garlic and the chopped onions; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, 250ml of water, chipotle chillies, 5 teaspoons of oregano, sugar and salt to taste. Add the reserved dripping. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pour the chipotle sauce into a blender, filling it no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the sauce moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean saucepan. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the sauce right in the frying pan. Strain the sauce through a sieve.
- To serve: Hollow out the bottom half of each baguette or roll to make a shallow bowl for the chopped pork. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the chipotle sauce over the bottom of each roll, then arrange the pork over the sauce. Top each sandwich with a couple slices of pickled jalapeno, followed by the top half of the roll. Pour about 4 tablespoons of additional chipotle sauce over the entire sandwich.
Ingredient Note
You can add your family's favourite toppings, i.e. lettuce, avocado, onions, tomato. These are really easy to make and quite filling.
Ingredient Note
One to two dried ancho chillies can be substituted for the chipotle for a milder sauce.
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Reviews & ratings
Average global rating:
(8)
Reviews in English (7)
A good family friendly recipe. It wasn't what I would consider hot or spicy. In fact, I was surprised by the blandness. The sauce tasted like plain tomato sauce and we could barely taste the chipotle. I added more chipotles and quite a bit of salt, but still felt like there should have been another layer of flavor. Since I've never had torta before, I didn't know if it needed a little adjusting or if it's really supposed to be a simple tomato based recipe. We ate a couple of the sandwiches like the recipe suggested, but ended up mixing the sauce with the pork and eating as pulled pork sandwiches. - 28 Oct 2010 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
I recently made this for our daughter's graduation party, at which we served a Mexican style menu. While this recipe took awhile, it was WONDERFUL! All the ingredients, cooking time, & instructions were accurate & so helpful. We varied this however, by combining the delicious sauce with the meat & serving it as a chipotle pulled pork on buns. Everyone loved this. Thank you for listing it DeAnna. :-) - 21 Jun 2010 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)
I absolutely loved this recipe! It seems labour intensive but it isn't really and what time you do put into it pays off in spades - the taste was full and spicy and just delightfully yummy! My husband and two teenage kids loved them! The pork just melts in your mouth...Definitely making it again! - 16 May 2010 (Review from Allrecipes US | Canada)