Recipes

Potato Masa Cakes

Potato Masa Cakes

Tortitas de Papa y Masa
Mashed potato mixed with corn tortilla dough makes a wonderful potato cake to eat alone or serve with a variety of toppings. See recipes for Potato Masa Cakes with Grilled Chicken and Potato Masa Cakes with Vegetables.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 (4-inch) round cakes

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, cook the potato in salted water to cover until very tender, about 8 minutes.
  • Drain and mash potato with the butter while still hot.
  • Cool until lukewarm.
  • In a mixing bowl, using clean hands, mix the masa harina, salt, and water together to make a soft dough.
  • If too dry, add additional water 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time until the dough is moist and soft, but not sticky.
  • Add the mashed potato and work it into the masa with your hands.
  • Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and form into balls.
  • Put 1 ball between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and gently press and pat lightly with your hands to make a 4-inch round cake about 1⁄3-inch thick.
  • Preheat the oven to 200°.
  • In an 8-inch nonstick skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
  • Remove the plastic and fry the cake until golden brown and crisp on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
  • Put on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while shaping and frying the remaining cakes.
  • Serve hot.
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Course; Appetizer
Cuisine; Mexican

Potato Masa Cakes with Vegetables

Potato Masa Cakes with Vegetables

Tortitas de Papa y Masa con Verduras
Adobe Restaurant in Tlaquepaque, a village near Guadalajara, has a very inventive and modern menu, including this dish. Serve as a vegetarian entrée or with a small steak. Fresh Tomatillo Sauce is served on the side.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  • Prepare the salsa, if using.
  • Then, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onion, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the carrot and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
  • Add the zucchini, red pepper, jalapeño, and corn.
  • Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes.
  • Stir in the salt, pepper, and butter.
  • Reserve in the pan off heat.
  • Prepare the potato masa cakes.
  • To serve, reheat the vegetables.
  • Place 1 potato cake in the center of each of 4 serving plates.
  • Divide the vegetable mixture over each cake.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve with green salsa, if desired.
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Course; Cake
Cuisine; Mexican

Masa Snacks, Veracruz Style

Masa Snacks, Veracruz Style

Picadas
No wonder picadas, the filled masa dough snacks similar to those called sopes in other parts of Mexico, are so popular in Veracruz. The typical red and green toppings are colorful, and taste great! Picadas are finger foods and should be served as soon as they are made.This recipe is for picadas with red sauce. (To make picadas with the green topping, make masa shells exactly as directed in this recipe, and top with Fresh Tomatillo Sauce, instead of red sauce.)
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Ingredients

Makes 18 to 20 appetizers

Instructions

  • Form the masa dough into 18-to-20 equal balls of about 1 ounce each.
  • Using a tortilla press, place a piece of plastic on the open tortilla press, and put 1 masa ball in the center.
  • Lay another piece of plastic on top of the ball.
  • Lower the handle to press into a 3-inch circle.
  • Heat a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
  • Peel the plastic off the masa patty and pan-bake 15 seconds, turn over and cook another 15 seconds.
  • Remove from the pan and quickly pinch up the edge of the partially baked masa to form a tiny rim of about ¼ inch all around.
  • Cover with a kitchen towel to keep moist.
  • Repeat with the remaining balls.
  • Reserve the shells while preparing the tomato sauce.
  • In a medium skillet, heat the oil and cook the onion, garlic, and serrano chile.
  • In a blender, blend the roasted tomatoes and cilantro.
  • Add to the skillet, and cook until the mixture thickens and is nearly dry.
  • Season with salt.
  • The topping can be made ahead and stored refrigerated up to 2 days.
  • In the same skillet used for cooking the masa patties, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
  • When the oil shimmers, fry the reserved picada shells on both sides until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Drain on paper towels.
  • Top each picada with about 1 tablespoon of the tomato sauce.
  • Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of cheese on top, and serve at once while still warm.
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Course; Snack
Cuisine; Mexican

Masa Patties Stuffed with Pork, Onion, and Salsa

Masa Patties Stuffed with Pork, Onion, and Salsa

Gorditas de Cerdo
These masa patties are stuffed with a delicious combination of pork, onion, and salsa. These gorditas are from Dona Julia Gorditas, a great little place in Zacatecas.
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Ingredients

Makes 12 snacks

  • Basic Corn Tortilla Dough
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 1 pound thinly sliced ¼ inch pork cut from the leg or sirloin
  • ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 medium white onion finely chopped
  • 2 medium garlic cloves finely minced
  • ½ cup thick and chunky bottled salsa

Instructions

  • Proceed as described in of Masa Patties Stuffed with Beans and Cheese (preceding recipe).
  • To make the filling, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Cook the pork until brown on both sides and white inside, but still juicy, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
  • Season with salt and transfer pork to a cutting board.
  • Finely chop and reserve.
  • In the same skillet, cook the onion, stirring, until translucent, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
  • Return the chopped pork to the pan.
  • Add the salsa and stir to mix.
  • With a small sharp knife, cut a slit in one side of each tortilla and gently slide the knife blade back and forth to make a pocket for the filling.
  • Stuff the pockets with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pork mixture.
  • (Any leftover pork makes great tacos or burritos.
  • )
  • Brush the gorditas on both sides with oil and cook on a hot griddle or in a hot skillet, turning 2 to 3 times, until flecked with brown, about 2 minutes total, but still soft.
  • Serve at once.
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Course; Pork / Snack
Cuisine; Mexican

Masa Patties Stuffed with Beans and Cheese

Masa Patties Stuffed with Beans and Cheese

Gorditas de Frijoles y Queso
Gordita, or "little fat one", generally means a savory snack made with corn tortilla dough. The size and what goes on top or inside varies from region to region. Just as with similar snacks called sopes and chalupas, it's an adventure trying all different kinds when traveling in Mexico.This recipe is from Dona Julia's Gorditas in Zacatecas, a wonderful fast food establishment that offers a number of fillings stuffed inside the plump tortillas—all made fresh to order.
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Ingredients

  • Basic Corn Tortilla Dough
  • 1½ cups refried beans canned or homemade
  • 1 cup shredded Chihuahua or Monterey Jack cheese
  • Jarred pickled jalapeño chiles en escabeche, seeded and cut into strips or rings

Instructions

  • Then, make 12 egg-size tortilla balls.
  • Put on a plate; cover to keep moist.
  • Open the tortilla press.
  • Lay 1 piece of plastic on the bottom and drape the second piece over the hinged lid.
  • Put 1 ball of dough on the plastic on the bottom of the press and lay the other piece of plastic on top of the dough.
  • Lower the hinged lid and press gently to form a 4-inch tortilla about 1⁄3-inch thick.
  • Open the lid and pick up the fat tortilla.
  • Peel off the top piece of plastic.
  • Flip over the tortilla and carefully peel off the second piece of plastic.
  • Lay the tortilla on the hot pan.
  • Cook until the edges look dry, about 40 seconds.
  • With a spatula, turn and cook the second side for 1 minute.
  • Turn again and cook for 15 seconds.
  • (If it puffs, that’s good, it will be easier to cut open for the filling.
  • ) Put the tortillas on a plate, cover to keep moist and repeat making small fat tortillas until all are finished.
  • With a small sharp knife, cut a slit in one side of each tortilla and gently slide the knife blade back and forth to make a pocket for the filling.
  • Stuff the pockets with about 2 tablespoons refried beans, 1 tablespoon cheese, and 2 or 3 strips of jalapeño.
  • Brush the gorditas on both sides with oil and cook on a hot griddle or in a hot skillet, turning 2 to 3 times, until flecked with brown but still soft, about 2 minutes total.
  • Serve at once.
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Course; Cheese / Snack
Cuisine; Mexican

Potato Masa Cakes with Grilled Chicken

Potato Masa Cakes with Grilled Chicken

Tortitas de Papas y Masa con Pollo Asada
Strips of pan-grilled chicken are stacked on a crisp potato masa cake for this modern Mexican presentation. The chicken can also be cooked on an outdoor grill, if desired.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 200°.
  • Prepare the Potato Masa Cakes, and keep warm in the oven while cooking the chicken.
  • Rub the chicken with the 2 teaspoons of oil and season with about ¼ teaspoon of the salt.
  • Heat a stovetop grill pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken breasts about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until browned with grill marks on the outside, firm to the touch, and no longer pink inside at the thickest part.
  • Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the corn with the butter, stirring, until completely heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Reserve in the pan off heat.
  • Remove the chicken to a cutting board and slice thinly crosswise.
  • Remove the potato cakes from the oven and put 1 cake in the center of each of 4 warm plates.
  • Arrange the chicken strips equally on top of each potato cake and top each with some salsa and a dollop of sour cream.
  • Spoon a portion of the corn around the cakes on each plate.
  • Scatter chopped cilantro over all.
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Course; Chicken / Quiche
Cuisine; Mexican

Masa Cakes from Veracruz

Masa Cakes from Veracruz

Bocoles
Patricia Quintana, cookbook author and cooking instructor from Mexico City, has been a friend and source of information about Mexican cuisine for many years. Patricia taught me to make bocoles, fat little masa cakes that are served with eggs and sausage for breakfast in the Huasteca region of Veracruz, where Patricia's family owns a ranch. Sometimes bocoles are stuffed with cheese or beans.
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Ingredients

Makes 12 bocoles

Instructions

  • Put the ingredients in a food processor and process until the mixture comes together to form a soft smooth dough.
  • Remove from the processor and knead the dough by hand to test the moistness.
  • The dough should be moist and soft, but should not stick to your hands.
  • If too dry, moisten hands with water and work the dough until it reaches the desired consistency.
  • Put the dough in a plastic bag and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Heat a comal, griddle, or skillet over medium heat.
  • Flatten egg-size balls of dough—by hand or in a tortilla press— into small cakes 2½ to 3 inches in diameter and ¼ inch thick.
  • Cook in a large, dry pan for 3 minutes on each side or until crusty and flecked with brown in spots.
  • Serve bocoles warm.

Notes & Wine Advice

To stuff the bocoles: When they are hot off the pan, slit an opening with a small sharp knife and slip in a small thin piece of cheese, such as Monterey Jack, Oaxaca, or asadero.
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Course; Cake
Cuisine; Mexican

Masa Dough Shells with Crab

Masa Dough Shells with Crab

Chalupas con Jaiba
Corn tortilla dough formed into ovals shaped like canoes are called chalupas. These chalupas are fried crisp and filled with crab and green salsa for a terrific appetizer.
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Ingredients

Makes about 16 small appetizers

  • Basic Corn Tortilla Dough
  • Vegetable oil for frying
  • Fresh Tomatillo Sauce or purchased
  • ½ pound fresh or frozen crab meat picked over

Instructions

  • Prepare the masa dough.
  • Divide the dough into 8 equal balls about 2 inches in diameter, then divide each ball in half for 16 (1-inch) balls.
  • Put the balls on a platter and cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
  • Form 1 ball into an oval shape resembling a canoe.
  • Pinch up a 1⁄3-inch rim all around the edge.
  • Repeat with the remaining balls.
  • In a medium skillet, heat oil to a depth of about ½ inch.
  • Fry the chalupa shells 2 or 3 at a time over medium-high heat until crisp and golden, about 2 minutes on each side.
  • (If the oil gets too hot, adjust the temperature, as needed.
  • ) Drain the masa shells on paper towels.
  • Prepare tomatillo sauce.
  • Then, fill each chalupa equally with crab and top with a dollop of green sauce.
  • Serve at once.
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Course; Appetizer / Fish
Cuisine; Mexican

Basic Corn Tortilla Dough

Basic Corn Tortilla Dough

Masa para Tortillas
This recipe details how to prepare dough to make corn tortillas from dried corn flour called masa harina. The dough is also used to make a number of masa-based snacks, such as sopes, gorditas, and chalupas. (See Appetizers and Snacks chapter.)If there is a tortilla factory near your home, you can buy prepared wet masa instead of making your own dough. Either way, the dough will work very well. (You don't have to worry about overworking masa dough because there's no gluten that can toughen as there is in wheat flour doughs.)
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Ingredients

Makes about 1 pound masa dough for 12 (6-inch) tortillas

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix the masa, water, and salt together with your hands until combined.
  • Knead the dough very well until moist and smooth, but not sticky, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  • If the dough is at all crumbly or seems too dry, moisten hands with water, and knead some more.
  • If the dough sticks to your hands, add masa harina, 1 tablespoon at a time, to achieve a moist, smooth dough.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest about 20 minutes before using, or refrigerate for up to 3 days, or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
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Course; Tortilla
Cuisine; Mexican

Mushrooms and Poblano Chiles in Guajillo Sauce

Mushrooms and Poblano Chiles in Guajillo Sauce

Hongos y Poblanos en Salsa de Guajillo
This is an outstanding combination to serve with grilled meats, or as a filling for enchiladas or crepes. I also use it in mini-amounts to fill Masa Shells for Sopes and serve as an appetizer.
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Ingredients

Makes about 3 cups

  • 2 large poblano chiles roasted and peeled
  • Guajillo Chile Sauce with Cream
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1½ pounds mushrooms use a mixture of portobello, cremini, and white mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced
  • ½ medium white onion finely chopped
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh epazote leaves if available, or cilantro
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
  • Finely crumbled or grated cotija cheese

Instructions

  • Prepare the chiles.
  • Then, cut out the stem end section of the chiles.
  • Discard the stems and cut the chiles open.
  • Remove the seeds and veins.
  • Rinse the chiles, blot with paper towels, and cut into thin strips, then into dice.
  • Then prepare the guajillo chile sauce.
  • Reserve.
  • Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add the mushrooms, poblanos, and onions.
  • Cook, stirring, until the moisture has cooked away.
  • Stir in the epazote, salt, and 1 cup of the reserved guajillo chile sauce.
  • (Save the extra sauce for another use.
  • ) Cook the mushroom mixture until completely heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Sprinkle top with cheese.
  • Serve hot or as directed in your recipe.
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Course; Sauce / Side Dish
Cuisine; Mexican