Get ready to sink your teeth into these crispy and delicious picaditas. Sweet, tender corn cakes are topped with green or red salsa, fresh onion, and creamy vegan queso.
Picaditas [Vegan]
Ingredients
For the Picaditas:
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2-3 tablespoons refined coconut oil or vegetable oil
Toppings (optional):
- Salsa verde
- Salsa roja
- Queso fresco
- Mexican crema
- Fresh white onion
Preparation
Dough:
- Add the masa harina and salt to a mixing bowl and combine. Then, pour in 1 ½ cups of warm water to start and mix together using your hands.
- Knead the dough to form a ball that's sticky enough to stay together, but not coming off on your hands. Add more flour or water to achieve a texture similar to play-dough. Keep the dough covered with a tea towel.
- Break off pieces of masa to form small balls (about 55 g each, or the size of a golf ball). Roll each piece of dough between your palms until smooth.
Toppings:
- Prepare salsa verde and salsa roja, or just one kind. Prep the other garnishes as well. Tip: prepare all toppings beforehand to save time.
Rolling:
- If you have a tortilla press, cut a zip lock bag into 2 pieces that will fit into the press. Open the press and place a ball of dough in the center on a piece of plastic. Place the other plastic piece on top and close the press down to form tortillas slightly thicker than normal (about ⅛-inch thick).
- If you don't have a tortilla press, place your ball of dough between the same 2 pieces of plastic on your counter. Press the dough down with the bottom of a baking dish or flat plate.
Cooking:
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet or comal up to medium. Cook each tortilla for about 60 seconds on the first side, or until brown spots are forming and the edges are curling up.
- Flip and press down on the tortilla lightly until it starts to puff up, about 80-90 seconds. Remove from heat and keep warm while you continue cooking the other tortillas.
- After ~30 seconds, pull a little dough from the inner portion of the cooked tortilla to form a small ridge around the outside. Pinch around the middle portion as well to form little craters (similar to an English muffin).
- Lightly brush the bottom of your skillet with oil, then add the pinched tortillas back in. Drizzle each one with a little refined coconut oil or other vegetable oil. Continue cooking for another 2-4 minutes until crispy.
- While in the pan, top each picadita with either salsa roja or salsa verde. Garnish with queso fresco, diced white onion, or Mexican crema. Happy eating!
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