I do not judge those that celebrate Easter; I just prefer to celebrate the Equinox. For this Easter/Equinox celebration I have been placed in charge of cooking duties. This assignment has got me jazzed up, and I think I am going to Re-dux the traditions of Easter by cooking a Pernil. Pernil is a Puerto Rican dish that involves onion, chile powder, cumin, garlic, and a big-ol honking pork shoulder. For this recipe I will be using Mark Bittman’s recipe, and it goes like this.
One large pork shoulder
2 Onions halved and skinned
Garlic, lots of garlic
Ground Cumin
Chile Powder (home ground)- I like using Chipotles and Anchos for this, Bittman is a fan of this as well.
Sherry Vinegar
1) Food Process all of the ingredients (excluding the pork shoulder) until they are smearish in texture. If the mixture not liquidy enough, add a little olive oil.
2) Rub the meat as if you are rubbing your lover or your baby. Coddle it. Massage it. And if your really into kinkiness lick it.
3) Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and get ready for a slow, laborious cooking. It should take five to six hours.
Alright onto the next part of the meal. Salad. And the perfect salad for spring time is Spinach and Strawberries. The recipes goes like this
Spinach, cleaned, washed, and centrifugally dried
Strawberries , sliced and diced
Vinagrette
Begin with a some red vinegar, a little red onion, and some sweet and spicy mustard, all added to a blender. Add to this concoction cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. For a hint of garlic throw in some powder, but keep it light. Also, add sugar to taste. The mixture should be sweet, but not screaming sweet. Keep it on the low side. Blend this. As it blends add the olive oil in a 4 to 1 ratio, but make sure your dressing does not taste like a oil mess.
The salad is complete. Now for a side
Pilaf. Mother fucking Pilaf. Or potatoes. Potatoes alla gretan. Or a bean salad. Oh man I am lost. Please people please help me sort through the chaos?
What about something with rice and beans? Red beans and rice? black beans? I think the gratin would be off… Pilaf though wouldn’t be bad though. Creole sounds cool as you would be going south to north with your themes. What’s another starch that goes well with hispanic foods? Posole? I also think that hot would be preferable to cold as your salad is as crisp as Mary Jane with 3 feet of pow.
I’ve always found that shallots rock the fucking house when it comes to dressings. you’d get your garlic tinge too- all while not getting too onion-ey… Perchance?