As I said I would share, here is the torta I made with the teleras. This torta is from the Nopalito cookbook, and this picture doesn’t do it justice. We were in such a hurry to eat these while hot, I barely glanced at the photo I took, and it was really dark in my kitchen so not a great one. But I will describe it to you 🙂
The rolls are toasted with some cheese and then spread with refried beans. They are then topped with adobo shredded pork made with dried chiles, shredded cabbage, avocado and a simple salsa jalapeno for acidity and kick. These are substantial and my son ate 2! They are that good. The pork can be made the day before, as it takes some cooking time. The bread is also better made the day before so it holds up to all these fillings. The adobo and salsa you can make the same day.
Amazon sells all the dried chiles you need for this if you don’t have access to a Mexican market. You can find them here – Ancho, Mulato, and Pasilla.
Tortas de Chilorio
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 1.5-2 lbs boneless pork shoulder cut into a few large pieces
- salt
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
For the adobo:
- 3 dried ancho chiles stemmed and seeded
- 1 dried pasilla chile stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried mulato chiles stemmed and seeded
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley or cilantro
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil for cooking
For the salsa:
- 2 jalapenos stemmed and seeded
- 4 medium tomatillos husked and washed
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For the sandwiches:
- 6 teleras cut in half
- 1/4 green cabbage thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
- 1 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
- 1 1/2 avocados sliced
- 1 1/2 cups refried beans thinned with a little water and warmed
Instructions
For the pork:
- Season pork with salt and place into a large oven safe pot, add enough water just to cover and season water with some salt, onion, bay leaves and garlic. Bring to a boil and then cover and transfer to a 300 oven and bake until very tender. About 2-2.5 hours. Add more water as needed when cooking so that pork is mostly covered. Cool and shred the meat and reserve until needed.
For the adobo:
- Pour boiling water over the chiles and allow to soften 30 minutes. Remove them from the water and place in a small blender cup, reserving water in case you need it. Add vinegar, parsley, garlic, oregano, cumin and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth but still a little thick. If too thick, add a little soaking water. Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium and add the adobo. Fry, stirring, for a few minutes until darkened and fragrant. Cool and store until ready to use.
For the salsa:
- Blend ingredients in a blender jar until still slightly chunky. Season with salt.
For the cabbage:
- Shred and mix with the sour cream. Season with salt.
To make the sandwiches:
- Heat oven to 350. Cut rolls in half and top with shredded cheese. Combine the pork and adobo in a skillet and heat over medium low until hot. Bake rolls until cheese is melted and the rolls are lightly toasted. Heat up the beans Spread the beans over the bottom half and top with warmed pork. Add some of the cabbage, the avocado and top with some of the salsa. Close up and cut in half. Serve with extra salsa.
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