Tortas

Crumb pulled out of both halves so the filling sits below the crust line, then the whole thing pressed on the griddle.

Pork. Not vegetarian — contains cheese whose rennet the source does not name, lard, meat the source does not name, pork.

Ingredients

• 4 bolillos, as on their own page
• 200 g refried beans, as on their own page
• 400 g cooked meat — carnitas, as on its own page, or milanesa
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 200 g Oaxaca cheese, pulled into strands
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 4 pickled jalapeños, in strips
• 4 tablespoons soured cream
• 2 tablespoons butter

Method

1. CRUMB IS PULLED OUT OF BOTH HALVES SO THE FILLING SITS BELOW THE CRUST LINE, and that hollowing is the step everybody skips. A bolillo split in two gives two half-cylinders with a fat belly of crumb in each. Pile a torta's worth of filling onto that and the roll will not close -- or it closes to twice the height of a mouth, and the first bite pushes everything out of the back. A good handful of soft crumb pulled out of each half with the fingers leaves two shells, and the filling drops INTO them rather than sitting on top. The sandwich then closes almost flat and holds together while it is eaten.
2. THE CRUMB IS PULLED, NOT CUT. Fingers, in rough tufts. A knife cuts through to the crust and leaves a hole, and that hole leaks.
3. THE BEANS GO ON BOTH CUT FACES AND ACT AS WATERPROOFING. A layer of refried beans spread over each hollowed face is not only filling: it seals the exposed crumb against tomato juice, cream and meat juices. Without it the base is soggy within five minutes and the torta cannot be carried.
4. IT IS PRESSED ON A GRIDDLE WITH BUTTER, WHICH IS THE OTHER HALF OF THE DISH. Buttered outsides, down on a medium griddle, and weighted with a second pan for two or three minutes a side. The crust goes crisp and golden, the cheese melts and glues the layers, and the whole sandwich compresses into something that can be held. Served unpressed it is a tall cold sandwich.
5. THE WET THINGS GO IN THE MIDDLE AND THE CREAM GOES ON LAST. Order matters in a pressed sandwich: beans, cheese, meat, then tomato and avocado, then cream, then the lid. Cream against the hollowed crumb soaks straight in, and the press drives it through.
6. The bolillos split horizontally, not quite all the way through so they hinge.
7. A good handful of soft crumb PULLED out of EACH half with the fingers, leaving two shells. Not cut.
8. The refried beans warmed and spread over BOTH hollowed faces, right to the edges.
9. The cheese laid onto the base, directly on the beans.
10. The hot meat laid on, then the tomato, onion, jalapeño and avocado.
11. The soured cream spooned on LAST, under the lid.
12. The roll closed and the OUTSIDE of both faces buttered.
13. A griddle set over a MEDIUM heat.
14. The torta laid on and WEIGHTED with a second pan or a plate with a tin on it.
15. Cooked 3 MINUTES, until the crust is crisp and golden.
16. TURNED, weighted again, and given 3 MINUTES more.
17. TESTED: the cheese should be molten and the sandwich should have compressed to about half its original height.
18. Cut in half on the diagonal and eaten at once.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes