Guest posting today and sharing her delicious recipe is Joan Nova from “Foodalogue”. Joan has a beautiful blog filled with fantastic recipes, travel stories and beautiful pictures.
It’s raining. It’s pouring. The old man is snoring. Do you remember that little jingle from your childhood? It was the inspiration for this dinner. It was raining. It was pouring. There was no old man snoring. Otherwise, I would have woken him up and sent him to the market!
Instead, I ferreted through the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. I mixed. I matched. I re-purposed. And each step (noted below) brought me closer to the ‘kitchen magic’ that we foodies love so much.
* I pulled out the container of pulled pork from the carnitas my son made for our tortilla food challenge last week.
* My mind immediately went to a pulled pork sandwich and simultaneously to a fresh tasting salad to go with it.
* First came the idea of a red cabbage slaw (because that’s what I had).
* Since I already was on a Latin path, I thought to make it tropical with toasted coconut and a citrus dressing.
* Then, I remembered I had squirreled away a couple pieces of plantain (maduros – the sweet ones) that were leftover from a prior meal.
* Aha, I had it!
I would make a tropical slaw dressed with a plantain vinaigrette. It would add crunch, freshness, acidity from the citrus and a little sweetness from the plaintain — in fact, it was a perfect complement to the savory pork. It truly was kitchen magic!
Tropical Slaw
Shredded red cabbage, shredded carrot, fresh cilantro, toasted coconut and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Plantain Salsa
Pulsed 3 small slices of baked plantain with juice of 2 limes, 1/2 large lemon and olive oil. It was more the consistency of a salsa than a vinaigrette so I mixed a little through the slaw and then topped it with a dollop.
The Moral of this Tale
NEVER throw leftovers away, especially if they’re 3 measly pieces of plantain. This was unplanned but flavor-popping delicious…so much so, that the dishes are the table, the pans are in the sink, and I rushed off to the computer to tell you all about it.
I’m very happy it rained today.
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Erica
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 8:51 AM:
Joan,
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe with my readers!
Joan Nova
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 8:57 AM:
Thanks, Erica. It was fun for me to re-read it and remember the circumstances that led to the creation. I hope your readers enjoy it.
Sophie
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 9:32 AM:
What a lovely recipe this is!!
Now, I want to eat the lot! MMMMMMM,…
monicajane
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 9:47 AM:
so BEAUTIFUL…and carnitas is one of my favorite dishes in the world
Chris
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 6:46 PM:
What an interesting spin on a classic. I am a big fan of pulled pork sandwiches (as evidenced by the header photo on my blog
). What did you serve it on, is that a large biscuit?
rebecca subbiah
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 9:01 PM:
wow what a fun recipe and great snap
Oysterculture
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 10:02 PM:
Oh my goodness, I can practically taste how good this is going to be. I love pulled pork and well everything else just falls into place!
Sarah Naveen
on Nov 29th, 2009
@ 10:59 PM:
oh wow!!! That looks fabulously yummy!!!oohhh!!!!
theUngourmet
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 1:24 AM:
This sandwich looks perfect for a rainy day!
Ben
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 8:13 AM:
I love Joan’s recipes. There’s always something new and exciting going on on her blog. Love the plantain salsa!
Erica
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 8:41 AM:
Thank you all for visiting my site
Joan Nova
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 10:20 AM:
to Chris – yes, that was a biscuit.
Diana@Spain in Iowa
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 11:21 AM:
Joan! So glad to see you here as well!! As usual, this looks amazing! Love pulled pork but the citrus dressing put this over the top!
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 6:03 PM:
Gotta love that magic! This sounds so good!
Gloria
on Nov 30th, 2009
@ 6:23 PM:
This look really nice, Erica gloria