Tacos with roasted pineapple

Tacopedia, Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena, 2015 Mexico

A fabulous book, a study of culture through food. Roasted pineapple is delicious with tacos! Anne

“Everything fits in a tortilla: As Mexican as mariachi music, the taco is, without a doubt, Mexico’s most popular food . . . A taco, at its simplest, is a tortilla, filling, and salsa – the other holy trinity in Mexico – yet when these three elements are prepared with the proper care and ingredients, tacos can be raised to the status of haute cuisine . . . the humble tortilla has an extraordinary capacity for adapting itself to fillings of every possible kind – meat, vegetables, fruit, cheese – and anything placed in a tortilla is, by definition, a taco.” Alejandro Escalante

Roasted Pineapple

Serves 4 – 6

1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced; sugar; sea salt; corn oil, if frying

1. Dust both sides of the pineapple slices with a little sugar and salt

2. Roast the slices on a hot grill or griddle, or else fry in a skillet with a little oil, on each side for about half a minute, or until golden

3. Cut the slices into small chunks and serve on a plate next to the salsas

Gringas

Serves 4

9 oz (250g) Oaxaca, chihuahua, or asadero cheese (or another melting cheese); 6 – 12 4 ½” (11 cm) flour tortillas; 11oz (300g) meat prepared al pastor style (steaks marinated, roasted on a griddle and sliced into strips); salsa, roasted pineapple, chopped onion, and fresh cilantro, to garnish

1. Make a quesadilla: put some cheese in a flour tortilla, fold the tortilla in half, then warm both sides on a hot griddle until the cheese has melted.

2. Open the quesadilla and add the prepared meat to the melted cheese

3. Serve immediately with garnishes of your choice