Wanted: Recipe for gorditas
Raji Parameswaran
Hi, does the dish 'gorditas' ring a bell with anyone?
There is a Mexican restaurant called Zuzu's here in Dallas that
makes this and I would really love to make it at home.
The filling (made of black beans) is in a pastry-like-but-not-quite
sort of shell. I can't for the life of me be more specific!
Help? thanks :)
Raji
Melissa Tyler
I'm pretty sure it's a deep-fat fried flour (rather than corn)
tortilla. At least that's the way it looks in our Zuzu's.
Melissa
Eruna Schultheiss
<Hi, does the dish 'gorditas' ring a bell with anyone?
<There is a Mexican restaurant called Zuzu's here in Dallas that
<makes this and I would really love to make it at home.
<The filling (made of black beans) is in a pastry-like-but-not-quite
<sort of shell. I can't for the life of me be more specific!
<Help? thanks :)
<Raji
Hi Raji
Not easy, but I found the following two recipes for Gorditas. However
the first one appears to be a lot of work and the second one is not
vegetarian and we?ll have to find a substitute for the Chorizo.
GORDITAS Stuffed with Refried Black Beans
>From ?The Best 125 Meatless Mexican Dishes? by Susan Geiskopf-Hadler &
Mindy Toomay
Mexican / Vegetarian / Vegan
makes 12 gorditas
1 1/2 cups masa harina
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp garlic oil
1/4 cup refried black beans
cup canola oil for frying
Combine the masa harina with the salt, then add 1 cup water and the
garlic oil and work for a few minutes with your hands to create a
smooth, soft dough. Work in more water, 1 Tbsp at a time, if the dough
is crumbly rather than soft. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls.
Pick up a ball and make a deep indentation in the center with your
thumb. Place about 1 teaspoon of the beans into the indentation and
pinch the dough closed over them. With your hands, pat the ball into a
1/2-inch-thick circle. It is fine if the beans bleed through the
dough. Form 12 patties in this manner and set them aside on a plate.
Meanwhile, pour the canola oil into a heavy-bottomed skillet o a depth
of 1/4-inch and heat it over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a
speck of masa. When the oil is hot enough, place a few gorditas in the
pan and fry 3 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Drain
briefly on layers of paper towels and serve immediately with your
garnishes of choice on the side. Do not allow the gorditas to cool off
too much before serving: their texture is best when freshly cooked and
piping hot.
Masa harina: ground corn flour. Available at Ethnic grocery stores and
many supermarkets; Quaker and Maseca are two popular brands.
Garlic oil:
2 cups olive oil
10 medium cloves garlic, minced
Combine the garlic and olive oil in a glass pint jar. Cover and allow
to stand at room temperature but out of direct sunlight for 24 to 48
hours. Strain out the garlic and store the oil in a covered jar or
bottle in a dark cupboard. It will keep for a few months.
Refried Black Beans:
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, minced
1/4 tsp pure chili powder
2 1/2 cups cooked black beans
2 Tbsp bean cooking liquid
Crush the cumin seeds thoroughly with a mortar and pestle and set
aside. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium
heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. until it begins to
soften. Add the cumin and chili powder. Continue to cook for about a
minute, then increase the heat to medium-high and stir in about a
third of the beans, along with the bean cooking liquid. Mash them with
a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. Add another third of
the beans and mash them in the same manner. Stir in the remaining
third of the beans and mash again. Continue to cook for about 5
minutes, stirring almost constantly, until the beans are very hot.
per gordita:
131 Calories
2 g Protein
6 g Fat
1 g Dietary Fiber
18 g Carbohydrate
68 mg Sodium
0 mg Cholesterol
GORDITAS (Little Fat Tortillas)
>From ?Elena?s Secrets of Mexican Cooking? by Elena Zelayeta
makes about 12 to 15 gorditas
1 lb fresh masa
1/2 cup sifted flour
3 Tbsp shortening
1 tsp salt
(Chorizo and) grated cheese
Green Chile Sauce:
1 1/2 cups tomato purée
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp orégano
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp oil
Peeled green chilies, to taste
Place masa, flour, shortening, and salt in a bowl, and mix until
smooth. Shape dough into balls the size of large walnuts, then pat
each one between moistened palms of hands until they are the size of
small pancakes (about 3 inches across). Cook on both sides in an
ungreased heavy skillet. While still hot, pinch up edges between thumb
and fingers to form a border, and pinch up a small amount in the
center so that they look like sombreros. Set aside until ready to
serve, and make the sauce.
Sauce: Place all ingredients in a saucepan, stir to combine well, and
simmer over moderate heat for about 20 minutes, or until onion is
cooked and sauce thoroughly blended. Serve cold.
Just before serving, fry cakes in hot oil until golden brown and drain
on absorbent paper. Arrange on a large serving platter and fill brim
of each little hat with (fried chorizo). Sprinkle generously with
grated cheese and pile shredded lettuce on top. Pour a little cold
sauce over each one and serve with radish rings and refried beans.
These are as endearing as their name. Their shape is enchanting, their
flavor delectable! Chalupas are exactly the same except they are
shaped like the little boats (chalupa) that are used in the floating
gardens of Xochimilco.
After typing the whole recipe I found out that Chorizo (which I
assumed to be cheese) is a kind of Mexican sausage. Any ideas with
what it could be substituted?
Enjoy your experiments and let us know how they turn out!
Eruna Schultheiss
Cherry Hills, Colorado
er...@taom.com
wyldwmn
> Raji Parameswaran wrote:
> > The filling (made of black beans) is in a pastry-like-but-not-quite
> > sort of shell. I can't for the life of me be more specific!
> >
which are thick, hand-made tortillas, about 3-4" in diameter, which are
cooked on a "comal" (grill). As the panuchos cook, they puff up as they
fill with air. Once they puff up, they are stuffed with black beans.
Once stuffed, they are fried in lard, and then served on a plate with
pulled chicken, shredded lettuce, pickled red onions, and chile. I make
vegie versions of panuchos, and they are wonderful.
If you ever go to a Mexican restaurant and ask for "panuchos," be
careful..."panucho" is also a slang word that refers to the female
anatomy, and I'm not talking about upper frontals here....
wyldwmn
--
@}---'---,--- @}---'---,--- @}---'---,--- @}---'---,--- @}---'---,---
Just a wyld ramblin' rose, seeking mysteries untold.
No regrets for the path that I chose.
When a flower grows wyld, it can always survive.
Wyldflowers don't care where they grow.
@}---'---,--- @}---'---,--- @}---'---,--- @}---'---,--- @}---'---,---
wyldwmn
Melissa Tyler wrote:
>
> I'm pretty sure it's a deep-fat fried flour (rather than corn)
> tortilla. At least that's the way it looks in our Zuzu's.
"Gorditas" are made of masa, lard, salt, and are fried in lard. A
vegie version that I make, is to use dry masa harina (available in the
market - made by Quaker) and flavor it with home made vegie stock. I
also add some finely chopped chiles, sometimes some sauteed onions, and
sometimes cheese. Various forms of "gorditas" can be found in Central
adn South America. In Venezuela, for example, they may be called
"arepas" and in El Salvador, they make a "pupusa" which is masa that is
flattened into a thick pancake, filled with cheese adn herbs, beans,
meat, or any combination of thsoe three, then rolled into a ball and
flattened again, and then fried. Pupusas are served with a cabbage
salad called "curtido." Curtido is made with shredded cabbage, shredded
carrot, onion, vinegar, minced chiles, and served cold on top of the
hot, sizzling pupusas. Several months back Sunset Magazine had a pupusa
recipe. I tried it, and while it wasn't like the pupusas made by people
from El Salvador, it was nonetheless quite good. If anyone would like
it, I would be glad to post it.
In Mexico, I have seen gorditas formed as plain, round disks, and I
have also seen them with the sides pinched up (just like when you made a
clay ashtray in Kindergarten in the 50's), and then once fried, the
middle is filled with meat or beans or shredded lettuce or salsa or any
combination. I have successfully made vegie versions of gorditas,
without all the lard or Crisco, and have eaten them in vegie restaurants
near where I live.
wyldwmn
PS: The only fried flour tortillas I have ever had in a Mexican
restaurant or in Mexico, have been covered with Mexican melted brown
sugar and served as a dessert and called "bun~uelos." This is only ONE
type of "bun~uelo," however, another type being a small puff that is
fried and then covered with the sugar syrup.
Sharon Palmer
I missed an important point in my recipe for gordas.
They are made from _corn_ tortillas, not flour.
Sharon Palmer
Raji Parameswaran wrote:
>
> Hi, does the dish 'gorditas' ring a bell with anyone?
Diana Kennedy's _The Torilla Book_ has several recipes for
"Gordas". Gorditas would be little gordas or maybe favorite
gordas. Or these might be something else entirely.
12 tortillas
1 chile ancho ) or 3 fresh Anaheim chiles
1 1/2 c. milk ) 2/3 milk
Anyhow the dough is dried up, hard tortillas ground in a
blender or food processor to a flour, mixed with dried
chiles soaked in milk and processed to a dough. Set aside
for an hour. Make into little cakes 2" around, 1/4" thick.
Then deep fried.
Some similar recipes are made from Masa Harina.
Top them with Salsa, onion, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, etc.
I can't find a recipe, but I have made a similar dough into
little cups and filled them. I want to try baking them too.
I think I am getting hungry.
Sharon Palmer dm...@iwaynet.net