The Greenest Tacos You've Ever Seen (feat. Pickled Slaw, Stir-Fried Chard, and Salsa Verde)

It’s the end of June, and it’s getting hot in Philly. As the temperatures climb, our gardens feel the full effect of the urban heat island—that is, because cities contain lots of heat-retaining concrete and not so much cooling green space, large urban areas like Philly are often significantly warmer than nearby rural areas. One of the farmers at our ¾-acre site in West Philly told me that their produce is often a whole month ahead of the farms located outside of the city. That can be a good thing; it means that they can extend their growing season earlier into the spring and later into the fall, and they often have certain crops before anyone else. But it also means that by June, they can no longer grow less heat-tolerant spring crops like peas, spinach, and arugula.

Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways to get your greens in the hot summer months. Our hardier greens like kale, collards, and chard are thriving right now, and I’m finding lots of great ways to incorporate them into my meals. On a particularly hot evening, I decided to test out this awesome taco recipe on Food52, which I adapted a little to minimize stove and oven time (because that tiny kitchen gets warm, y’all).

I swapped out the chicken thighs for some leftover ground pork, which I marinated with some onions and chives before giving it a quick stir-fry. And instead of the caramelized onions (which, although delicious, take forever), I decided to quickly sauté some gorgeous rainbow chard with scallions, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Best of all, the salsa verde and the slaw are both totally raw, so Drew and I could put together this meal without spending more than ten minutes at the stove. Nice!

Quick Pork Tacos with Chard, Pickled Slaw, and Salsa Verde (makes about 6 small tacos)

For the filling:

½ lb ground pork

½ onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 inch fresh ginger, minced

1 tbs chives, minced

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs rice vinegar

1 tsp gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

Vegetable or canola oil

Combine all the ingredients and let marinate for at least 30 min. Add enough oil to skillet to coat, then heat over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add pork mixture, stirring and breaking it up with a spatula to prevent large clumps from forming. When pork is lightly browned and onions have become translucent, remove from heat.

For the chard:

Note: chard is an amazing ingredient! I am of the firm belief that everyone should eat more chard. Aside from being super beautiful (especially rainbow chard), it has an awesome, earthy taste that adds a lot to any dish. It’s pretty easy to use and, if sliced into narrow strips, sautés very quickly.

1 bunch chard (around 10-12 midsize leaves), stalks trimmed and remainder sliced into narrow strips

1 inch ginger, minced

¼ cup scallions, sliced

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs rice vinegar

Pinch salt

Pinch sugar

Black pepper

Vegetable or canola oil

Coat a midsize skillet in oil, then heat over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add ginger and scallions and sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chard and sauté for another minute or two, until leaves have wilted significantly. Stir in soy sauce and vinegar, then season with salt, sugar, and a couple good cracks of pepper. Continue sautéing until scallions and chard stalks are tender but still have some bite (this will happen faster than you think!).

For the slaw (adapted from Food52):

¼ of a large head of cabbage, shredded

4 medium carrots, julienned

1 cucumber, julienned

1 bunch kale, leaves cut off of stems and sliced into strips

¼ cup rice vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Pinch of salt

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, lime juice, and salt in a large bowl until combined. Add vegetables and toss until evenly coated. Let sit for at least 30 min so that vegetables can pickle slightly.

For the salsa (adapted from Food52):

Note: The original recipe calls for fresh cilantro, but I swapped it out for some Thai basil that I’d picked up at the farm. The result was awesome—super fresh, spicy, and packed with basil flavor. Because the basil is pretty assertive, I added a little bit more coconut milk and honey to mellow out the salsa. These can be further adjusted depending on your spice tolerance.

2 jalapeños, seeded and roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp honey

1 tbs lime juice

1 tbs rice vinegar

1 cup packed Thai basil leaves

½ cup coconut milk

Pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until pureed. Taste and adjust seasoning. The salsa is super sharp immediately after blending, so I’d recommend letting it sit for a few minutes to mellow a little.

To assemble:

6 small corn tortillas

1 lime, cut into quarters

4 scallions, sliced

Toast tortillas over burners until nicely browned. (If you have a crappy gas stove like me, they will blacken super quickly in a sick spiral pattern, which I think is kind of cool.) Pile on chard, pork, and veggie slaw, then top with salsa and a sprinkling of scallion slices. Serve with lime slices. Devour and cover yourself with taco juices. Be happy.