The German Taco: a cross-cultural, trans-national fusion of deliciousness!
You'll need:
- Corn tortillas
- Cooked taco meat (carne asada, ranchera, tri-tip, or steak; any kind of roasted or braised pork would also be excellent)
- Red cabbage braised in red wine (recipe follows)
- Spicy mustard
- "Senf" Crema (recipe follows)
- Minced onion or shallot
- Minced parsley
Assembly:
- Toast your tortillas on a flame or grill (I like them double-stacked)
- Spread tortilla with mustard, then taco meat
- Top with red cabbage, crema, minced onion and parsley . Throw down with some German weissbier (try it with lime!) and maybe some "El Yucateco" hot sauce for a kick.
(adapted from A. Green's "Starting with Ingredients")
1 medium head red cabbage, cored and shredded
2 tbsp. bacon or smoked pork fat (substitute olive oil if unavailable)
1/4 cup smoked bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 tart apples (like Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c hearty but soft red wine, like Cab, Merlot, Petit Verdot, maybe even Rioja!
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 300. In dutch oven, heat pork fat and cook bacon for 5 minutes. Remove bacon onto paper towels, remove all but 3 tbsp. fat from pan.
Add onion and saute over medium heat until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add apples, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes more.
At once, add brown sugar, vinegar, wine, and cabbage. Bring to a boil (about 1 minute), stirring to moisten all of cabbage.
Cover and bake in oven for 45-50 minutes.
"Senf" Crema
1/4 c. mayo
1/4 c. plain yogurt
2 tbsp spicy mustard, deli mustard, or Dijon
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. honey
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt and pepper
Whisk all ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let flavors distribute. Add more lime juice or mustard to taste.
