How to make Mexican gorditas with chili pepper and cheese
Gordita, meaning ‘little chubby one’, is an accurate description of these thick tortillas filled with various ingredients. Delicious with meat, with cheese, or with just about anything, really. We’ll tell you step by step how to make them.
The most traditional gorditas in Mexico City are made with chicharrón prensado (pressed pork crackling). Nowadays, however, you can also find them filled with, among other things, carnitas (braised pork), suadero (Mexico’s ‘mystery meat’, which can be beef or pork), queso (cheese) and pastor (pieces of pork with fresh pineapple). There are many ways to make gorditas, from grilling to deep-frying.
How to make Mexican gorditas
- Make the filling for the gorditas. In a pan, bring the chili peppers and 750 ml water to a boil over high heat and cook the chili peppers for 5 to 7 minutes, until soft. Scoop the chili peppers out of the pan with a slotted spoon, reserve the cooking liquid and set the chili peppers aside to cool.
- Purée the chili peppers, onion and 100 ml of the chili pepper cooking liquid in a blender until smooth. Stir the purée into the ricotta, halloumi and pickled jalapeños in a bowl until everything is well combined.
- Make the dough. In a large bowl, mix the masa flour with the salt, chili powder or paprika and oil. Pour in 600 ml of the chili pepper cooking liquid and use your hands to mix the masa flour and liquid into a soft, non-sticky dough.
- Roll 100 grams of dough into a ball and flatten the ball with your hand. Spoon 30 grams of the chili pepper and cheese mixture into the center of the dough round. Fold the dough over the filling and roll the dough into a large ball. On a work surface, flatten the ball with your hands until the gordita has a diameter of approximately 10 to 12 cm. Repeat the previous steps and make 12 gorditas.
- Heat a comal (a smooth, flat griddle) or a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat and lightly spray it with oil. Working in batches, cook the gorditas for 8 to 10 minutes, turning them regularly, until golden brown. Spoon the guacamole onto the gorditas and serve with the lime wedges on the side.
Title: CDMX: A Culinary Journey Through Mexico City
Author: Rosa Cienfuegos
Price: €29.95
Publisher: Good Cook B.V.
In ‘A Culinary Journey Through Mexico City’, Rosa takes you on a culinary journey through one of the most vibrant cities in the world. Get to know the dishes that residents make or buy at home, in markets, restaurants and cafés. From breakfast through desserts and from basic dishes through cocktails; CDMX presents the recipes from Mexico City, dishes and drinks you simply have to try.
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