Torta Ahogada (Guadalajara Drowned Pork Sandwich)

Ingredients

• 800 g pork shoulder, in one piece
• 1 onion, halved
• 4 garlic, peeled
• 2 bay leaf
• 6 dried arbol chile, stemmed
• 3 dried guajillo chile, stemmed and seeded
• 5 dl passata
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red onion, sliced paper thin
• 2 lime, juiced
• 2 baguette, each cut into two short lengths
• salt to taste

Method

1. 1.

   Set the pork to simmer — Put the pork, the halved onion, two of the garlic cloves, the bay leaves and a heaped teaspoon of salt in a deep pot and cover with cold water by 3 cm. Bring slowly to the barest simmer and skim off the grey foam that rises.

2. 2.

   Braise and shred the pork — Half-cover the pot and cook at the gentlest simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes, until a fork twisted in the meat pulls the fibres apart with no resistance. Lift the pork out, let it cool a little, then shred it and moisten it with a ladle of the cooking broth. Save the rest of the broth.

3. 3.

   Toast and soak the chiles — Meanwhile toast the arbol and guajillo chiles in a dry pan over medium heat, about 30 seconds a side, until they smell sweet and smoky but before any smoke turns acrid. Cover them with hot water and soak for 20 minutes.

4. 4.

   Blend and fry the sauce — Drain the chiles and blend them with the remaining two garlic cloves, the oregano, cumin, vinegar and 200 ml of the pork broth until silky. Fry the purée in the oil in a saucepan for 3 minutes until it darkens, then add the passata and simmer for 10 minutes until glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt.

5. 5.

   Pickle the red onion — Toss the paper-thin red onion with the lime juice and a pinch of salt and leave it for 15 minutes, turning it once. It will go from purple to bright pink and lose its raw bite.

6. 6.

   Drown the sandwiches — Split each piece of baguette almost through, pack it with the hot shredded pork and close it. Sit each sandwich in a shallow bowl and ladle the hot sauce over until the crust is soaked and glowing red but still holding its shape. Pile on the pickled onion and eat at once, with a fork.