While the Pambazo (Mexican Potato and Chorizo Sandwich, is dipped and fried in extremely spicy chilli sauce, the torta ahogada soaks in a pool of it. Hailing from Guadalajara and found throughout the state of Jalisco, it is said to have been created in the early 1900s by a street vendor who accidentally dropped the sandwich into a container full of salsa, which the customer loved. You can order it “media ahogada,” which means the sandwich is only partially dipped in the sauce (a good option if you order from a street vendor and are eating with your hands), or “bien ahogada,” meaning totally submerged in sauce. As an alternative to the very spicy chile de árbol-based sauce, a sweeter, tomato-based version is sometimes offered. We use a mixture of both in the recipe below, though you can adjust as you see fit. The birote is a long, salted, crusty roll that helps hold the sandwich together amidst the sauce and carnitas. A good substitute is a hunk of baguette.
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 30 minutes, plus 15 minutes soaking
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 675g pork shoulder
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup/250ml water
- 1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced into half-moons
- juice of 1 lime
- 4 birote rolls (or hunks of baguette)
- 4 tablespoons cilantro (coriander) leaves, finely chopped
- salt and ground pepper
- lime wedges, to serve
For the spicy sauce
- 15 g dried chiles de árbol
- 1 cup/250ml hot water
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup/30g toasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
For the tomato sauce
- 900g tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Season the pork with salt, pepper, and garlic, and place in a roasting pan. Add the bay leaf and water to the bottom of the pan and cook in the oven for 2 hours, turning the meat over after 1 hour; it is ready when a knife inserted in the middle comes out warm. Remove and let cool until warm, then shred the meat with your hands, and set aside.
For the spicy sauce, place the chiles de árbol and hot water in a bowl and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Drain, and place the chilli in a blender with the garlic, vinegar, sesame seeds, oregano, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture and keep the liquid sauce.
For the tomato sauce, boil the tomatoes in a pan of water for 10 minutes, then drain, and peel. Clean the blender and add the tomatoes, cumin, onion, oregano, and garlic, and blend to a paste.
In a medium pan, heat the oil until hot, add the tomato mixture, and cook for 20 minutes, letting some of the liquid evaporate, stirring continuously so it doesn’t stick. Season the red onion with lime juice and some salt and leave for 5 minutes.
Cut open the bread and place some meat inside and then onions on the top. Pour some tomato sauce on the bread, add the spicy sauce and some cilantro (coriander).
Serve warm with lime wedges.
Extracted from The Latin American Cookbook by Virgilio Martínez | Published by Phaidon.
Available 15 October | phaidon.com
