Tortas are not only “cakes” or things in the shape of round cakes, but sandwiches. These wonderful open-faced sandwiches are traditional in Jalisco state. I have not seen them elsewhere. I became addicted to them after I persuaded my parents to transfer me from the perfect-housewife “finishing school” to the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Guadalajara. The school cafeteria had a fabulous cook who used to make this garlicky, spicy version of tortas ahogadas. It was so delicious that the taste haunted me for ten years, until I duplicated it from memory. It is a great winter party dish.
This sandwich or torta is a relative of the French Dip sandwich, but instead of dunking it, you are drowning it in the sauce, hence the name. Ahogadas means drowned. I didn’t add more sauce so you could see all the layers.
Good French rolls are the closest equivalent of the Mexican bolillos, which deserve a book in their own right. Mexican wheat and our bread flour are of very high quality. Since the short, doomed reign of Emperor Maximilian in the 1860s, Mexican bakeries have been producing many types of bread and rolls at least as good as those of Paris or Vienna. (For a fascinating account, see the chapter “La Panaderia” in Diana Kennedy’s Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico.) Anyone who visits Mexico without sampling some of the breads is missing one of the national glories. Every state has its own interpretation of bolillos, but they are universally wonderful. I have a prejudice in favor of the version in Chihuahua state (where the wheat is especially good), but the Jaliscan rolls are good too.
Roast Pork Sandwiches Jalisco-style (Tortas ahogadas)
Ingredients
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano rubbed between your hands to release flavor
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4½ pounds pork shoulder in one piece
- 6 crusty French rolls
- 3-4 cups
Tomato Sauce with Chipotle Chiles (Salsa de tomate con chile chipotle) - 1 cup
Sour Cream Mixture (Crema agria preparada) - 1 avocado peeled and cut lengthwise into thin slivers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475°F.
- Combine minced garlic with the oregano and a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. With small sharp knife, make gashes an inch deep all over the roast and fill with garlic mixture. Rub the outside of the roast with more salt and pepper.
- Place meat in shallow roasting pan and bake at 475°F for 20 minutes, to seal in the juices. Lower heat to 350°F and continue to bake until tender and thoroughly cooked, about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes. Carve into thin slices.
- Warm the rolls briefly in the oven and slice in half lengthwise. Remove some of the inside if desired to make room for filling. Spoon 2 tablespoons of Salsa de tomate con chile chipotle over each half-roll. Arrange pork slices on top. Drench with about ¼ cup more sauce. Dot with 1 tablespoon of the Crema agria preparada. Garnish with avocado slices and serve immediately, allowing 2 open-faced sandwich halves per serving.
