Seared Pork Tortas

This is such a good sandwich recipe! I found this awhile ago on MyRecipes.com and we've enjoyed it several times since then. I omit the suggested onion and jalepenos and had to make an additional tweak this time since I realized as I had everything else out on the counter that somehow I'd run out of salsa and hadn't bought more! Not sure how that happened - salsa is one of those condiments we ALWAYS have in the refrigerator, up there with ketchup, relish, and jam. I ended up using 2 TBS of Rotel Tomatoes with diced green chilies and it worked really well! I didn't notice much of a flavor difference.

I used 2 pork chops and 1 large baguette and ended up having a lot of leftover meat, enough for a 2nd full baguette for lunch the next day, so you may choose to not use the full amount of meat for 1 sandwich, just depends on how "stuffed" you want yours. The original recipe calls for shredded cheese but I used slices since I find them to be much easier to work with for a sandwich - I also used Colby-Jack since I couldn't find Monterrey Jack slices at my grocery store. This is a fantastic recipe and is so fresh tasting with the wonderful tomatoes and avocado.

All the ingredients, ready to go!

Yummy fresh tomatoes and avocado.

Pork, cooked and smelling spicy and delicious!

Pile of yummy french baguette breadcrumbs for later.

Toasted baguettes, ready to fill.

Not very pretty, but tasty bean mash.

All the ingredients, layered on the bread.

Delicious, fresh, and tasty sandwiches!

Seared Pork Tortas slightly modified from MyRecipes.com
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces boneless center-cut pork loin chops
1 (12-ounce) baguette, cut in half horizontally
1/2 cup canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons refrigerated fresh salsa
2 slices Monterrey Jack cheese, in halves
1 large tomato, cut into 8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices
1/2 ripe peeled avocado, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

Directions

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Slice pork into bite sized pieces and add to hot skillet. Sprinkle cumin and salt evenly over pork and stir to coat. Cook until done, about 5-10 minutes, stirring as needed. Pork should be well browned.
3. Hollow out top and bottom halves of bread, leaving a 3/4-inch-thick shell; reserve torn bread for another use. Place bread halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 2 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Place beans and salsa in a small bowl; mash with a fork until almost smooth. Spoon bean mixture into the bottom half of baguette. Top with pork, cheese slices, tomato, avocado, and top half of baguette. Cut into 4 pieces.