Tacos de Lengua

**Part of the reason why it has taken so long to post this is because Justin has been on our computer like mad working on his dissertation and an article to get published. Sorry for the delays.**

Last Saturday, Ariana and I went to the market, Mercado San Angel, to pick up the cow tongue she ordered on Wednesday. It was pretty huge and surreal seeing it in person. The cow was butchered that morning. That was also surreal. We picked up some more fruit and vegetables from the same lady that we have been going to. She gives us free fruit now, which is cool. Her, as well as, her helpers are very friendly and helpful and we always go to her now. We also discovered these two guys who sale grains and such and they sell an awesome granola mixture that I am now addicted to. It has oats, pumkin seeds, raisins, pecans, peanuts, coconut, almonds and this other type of grain that looks like birdseed. I think they toast the oats in honey. It is bomb. I've been eating it with Lala Natural Yoghurt and a piece of fruit for breakfast. Sometimes as a afternoon snack too.

Back home, Ariana gets the tongue prepared. It takes quite a while to cook, around 6 hours, and it was around 3pm when we finally got back. So no wasting time, but first I had to get some photos of it beforehand. I mean, how often does one bring a cow tongue home to eat? Exactly.

Ariana with the tongue.

Me with the tongue.

Olivia didn't know what to think and she would not touch it. Needless to say, she didn't eat any of it either.

More photos of the lengua before it goes in the pot.



The lengua in the pot of water with some salt and two cloves of garlic ready to boil, covered, for the next six hours. If you don't use a lot of water, don't put a lot of salt. Lots of water = lots of salt.

So, what to do while that is cooking? You make some salsa verde, oh yeah.

You will need: onion, tomatillos, jalapeños, serranos and cilantro.

Ariana did cut up three onions but most of it went towards condiment for the tacos.

 She used 25 tomatillos, 5 jalapeños and 7 serranos with some salt. Place these in a pot of water and boil on low heat for about an hour.

While that is boiling, cut the onions. Three ended up being too much. Two would have been plenty but Justin encouraged for three. He loves onion. The next day it was gone so it didn't go to waste.

Next, chop up the cilantro. I love cilantro! It is beyond awesome.

Alright, those peppers and tomatillos are ready.

Put them in a blender and blend unti smooth.

Then get a bowl and put some of the cut onion and cilantro in it. Next, pour the blended mixture into the bowl and stir. I accidently saved this photo super small. Sorry :( 

Voila! Salsa verde. Simple and fairly quick to make and super delicious.



Okay, so 6pm rolls around and we're getting hungry and the tongue still isn't done. What to do? Cut up some papaya and make a fruit tray! We added some cantaloupe and mini bananas as well.

The table spread thus far. There are some limes thrown in there too. You gotta have limes.

Still waiting for the tongue so we played a couple rounds of Uno.

Alas, the tongue is finally soft enough to cut.

You have to peel the tough outer skin off to get to the soft meat inside.

Remnants

It's a process of peeling and cutting. Ariana hard at work.

Houston, we have lift off! We are ready with the meat.

The final product with some tasty beans.

Enjoy with a nice bottle of red wine and some good friends.

I have a new appreciation for tacos de lengua. There is a lot of work involved in making these and they really are delicious. If you get a chance to try them, you should. Venture out of the box and live a little. I have a new appreciation for Ariana too. She is an awesome cook and it has been a pleasure living with her. I've been learning a lot from her and will learn even more. You rock Ariana!

Next blog: Museo de Frida Kahlo