Little Puffies

A few months ago, walking with friends in San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, Mexico, we came upon the town’s new gordita stand. I stopped to look at the colorful bowls of meats and salsas and vegetables spread out on the table, at the towers of gorditas waiting to be filled and, with fascination, at the woman at the stove.

She patted masa into thick disks, tossing them first onto a grill, then into a wide, shallow convex pan of hot oil where the gorditas puffed and wobbled to the surface like ungainly UFOs. We watched spellbound for a few minutes as the aroma of roasting corn and meats worked on our willpower, the same way marination breaks down stringy muscle. It was a few hours after breakfast, and a few hours before lunch, and we really hadn’t planned on eating anything, but of course, we had to try a gordita, just one, split three ways.

I’ve been obsessed ever since.

A gordita or “little fatty” is like a very thick tortilla, only chewier. It’s split and filled with beans and cheese and whatever else is on hand: meat, fish, chicken, vegetables, salad. Like a burrito or a torta, it’s a self-contained meal.

These gorditas were a bright yellow from the yellow corn used in the central plateau and came in two sizes, one slightly larger than your standard hamburger bun, the other a good seven inches in diameter.

Each gordita was automatically filled with beans and dry, white, crumbly cheese. The rest was improvisation: Chile verde, carnitas, tinga (stewed beef), al pastor (gyro-like pork), carne asada and stewed chicken, plus an assortment of stewed vegetables, salads and salsas were some of the choices. We picked juicy stewed squash blossoms and marinated nopales (cactus).

What hooked me then and haunted me for months was that gordita’s gritty-crisp golden crust, its chewy, moist interior and its rich corn flavor. And then there was the knuckly crunch of nopales, the delicate webbing of squash blossoms, the earthy beans, the salty bite of the cheese, the smoky chipotle salsa.

This was food that called us fully and blissfully into the present moment, where we sat at a splintering table in a very old room with tile floors and cool, crumbling stucco walls and a view out the entrance to the blue wooden side doors of a church. Once I got back to Los Angeles, I immediately started making gorditas.

And throwing gordita parties.

Gorditas are perfect for parties because of their adaptability to almost every appetite and food preference and because of their near-universal appeal. Round, golden, hand-sized and charmingly named, gorditas are simply, inarguably adorable.

Fresh masa with no added fat is the key to great gorditas; even better, if possible, is nixtamal (corn kernels soaked in water and lime-powder) ground-to-order. A great masa is damp and gritty and has the holy smell of ancient, wet stones. Masa is available in bags in Mexican and Salvadoran markets throughout Southern California, although I really think it’s worth a trip to Boyle Heights to buy it freshly ground. (I am crazy for the masa sold at La Indiana Tamales, which is right off the Golden State Freeway in Boyle Heights.)

The gordita dough itself is simple and forgiving: a bit of water for pliancy, some salt to amp up the corn flavor, a few drops of oil to keep the gordita from sticking to the comal or griddle and a teaspoon of baking powder per pound of masa to guarantee that near-miraculous puffing up in the fryer.

The fillings themselves can be just about anything, from homemade or purchased carnitas to last night’s pot roast, from carne asada to rotisserie chicken. You can, as I suggest with the recipes here, make your fillings, or you can use prepared purchased meats, cheeses and salsas.

When I first started making gorditas, I could manage only the smaller sizes, which are very serviceable for parties: It’s fun to be able to eat more than one, trying different mixes of fillings.

Eventually, after making many dozens of gorditas, my hands instinctively knew how to make larger and larger ones without the masa thinning or tearing.

Gorditas are cooked first on the grill, a few minutes per side, then deep-fried, where they rise in about 45 seconds. They are slit open with a knife--I’ve found a serrated steak knife to be perfect. The inside should be moist, but cooked.

This may sound like a lot of work, but all of the preparations are simple and swift. Once you get your griddle and oil hot, the process moves fairly quickly--too quickly, I think. The patting is physical and relaxing, the roundness satisfying and--if, like me, you are thrilled by such things--each time a gordita puffs and surfaces in the oil, it’s one more culinary miracle. Who wants such an activity to end? Always, when I’ve finally hit a groove and the gorditas are coming out perfectly round and floating as if bursting with helium, somebody invariably asks, “Don’t you think we have enough already?” And I’m sorry. I could keep patting and grilling and watching that dense masa defy gravity in the fryer for far longer.

While it’s best to eat gorditas as soon as possible after they come out of the oil, they hold their heat and crunch for a long time when stacked against each other--so you can make them ahead if you want. This is good news if you’re the kind of host who likes everything done before the party begins. On the other hand, why not make them to order? For shy hosts, there are worse ways to spend a party than patting and frying and serving perfectly puffed and golden gorditas to your guests.

MENU

Gorditas with

Carnitas

Pan-Seared Nopales

Chipotie Salsa

INGREDIENTS

Staples

Corn oil

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Baking powder

Bay leaf

Garlic

Milk

Lard

Shopping List

4 pounds fresh masa, preferably masa refregada, masa molida, masa sin preparada

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder

5 onions

1 orange

1 lime

8 tomatoes

1 bunch cilantro

8 ounces cotija cheese

20 dried chipotle chiles

2 pounds fresh, de-thorned, slivered nopales (cactus paddles)

1 jalepen~o chile

1 serrano chile

Countdown

2 hours before: Boil carnitas. Make chipotle salsa. Make pico de gallo salsa.

1 hour before: Fry carnitas in milk and lard. Pan-sear nopales. Refry beans. Mix gordita ingredients. Crumble cotija cheese for garnish.

30 minutes before: Form, grill and fry gorditas. (May be done several hours ahead.)

15 minutes before: Set fillings and garnishes in dishes on table with serving spoons.

CARNITAS

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 onions, halved

4 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

2 dry chipotle chiles

Juice and peel of 1 orange

Salt and pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons lard

1 cup milk

Bring pork, onions, garlic, bay leaf, chiles, orange juice, orange peel, water to cover and salt and pepper to taste in saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until pork is tender, about 1 hour. Drain, discarding onion, garlic, bay leaf and chiles.

Heat lard and milk in large saute pan. Add pork and cook, stirring often, until milk has evaporated and meat is well-browned, about 20 minutes.

8 servings. Each serving:

544 calories; 155 mg sodium; 130 mg cholesterol; 44 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 29 grams protein; 0.33 gram fiber.

PAN-SEARED NOPALES (Low Fat Cooking)

Unless you have an enormous saute pan, you may have to sear these nopales in batches.

4 pounds fresh, de-thorned and sliced nopales (cactus paddles)

Coarse salt

Heat heavy frying pan over high heat. Add just enough nopales to make 1 layer. (The idea is to sear, not steam them.) Sprinkle with salt to taste. Stir frequently as liquid comes out of cactus and continue stirring until liquid disappears and nopales have changed to duller green, about 5 minutes. Remove to bowl.

Repeat with remaining nopales.

8 servings. Each serving:

93 calories; 87 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 1.59 grams fiber.

CHIPOTLE SALSA (It’s a snap)

16 dry chipotle chiles, washed, stems removed

2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic

Water

Salt

Place chiles, tomatoes, onion and garlic in small sauce pan. Add just enough water to cover. Bring to boil, then stew until chiles are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool. Pulse in blender until sauce-like. Add salt to taste.

1 cup. Each tablespoon:

20 calories; 39 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 1.45 grams fiber.

BASIC GORDITAS

4 pounds fresh masa, preferably masa refregada, masa molida, masa sin preparada

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

Water

1 to 2 tablespoons lard or corn oil

Corn oil

1/2 pound cotija cheese, crumbled

Mix masa, salt and baking powder together with hands. Add just enough water and lard to make dough pliable. Continue kneading until dough begins to feel smooth.

Pull off enough masa to form 1 smooth, 2-inch ball. Pat gently back and forth in your hands to form 4- to 5-inch cake about 1/2-inch thick. Cook on hot griddle, 2 minutes on each side. Set aside.

Heat enough oil for frying to 375 degrees. Fry gorditas, 1 or 2 at a time, until they float, about 45 seconds. Remove and drain on paper towels. Split open each gordita with steak knife. (Opening should be wide enough for easy stuffing, but should not split apart.) Stuff with fillings of choice and serve with cotija cheese.

28 gordita shells. Each gordita, without filling:

245 calories; 105.7 mg sodium; 0.5 mg cholesterol; 3.43 grams fat; 4.86 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.96 grams fiber.

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Filling Ideas

Gorditas can be filled with just about anything. Here are a few suggestions to cook or purchase:

Black beans

Grilled snapper or shark

Grilled shrimp

Rotisserie chicken

Turkey

Leftover steak, roast or chops, diced and warmed

Chicharrones (pork skin)

Sesos (brains)

Buche (throat)

Scrambled egg

Guacamole

Cotija cheese (crumbly white fresh Mexican cheese)

Monterey jack cheese

Sour cream or “crema”

Sauteed or stewed mushrooms, summer squash, squash blossoms

Shredded lettuce or cabbage

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Kitchen Tip / Masa

Masa is ground, soaked nixtamal corn--corn that has been dried and soaked in water and small amounts of cal, or calcium oxide (chemically pure lime).

Fresh masa is most commonly used in the making of tamales, and is sold two ways. Preparada or prepared, is fresh masa mixed with lard and sometimes broth, baking powder and salt.

Many cooks (especially vegetarians who use oil instead of lard) prefer to mix their own dough and use unprepared masa--sold as masa refregada, masa molida or masa sin preparada.

Masa harina (flour for masa), can be used for gorditas--but only in a pinch.

Freshly ground masa can be purchased at Southland tortillerias and many Latino food shops, including the following:

La Gloria, 3455 First St., Los Angeles. (213) 263-6755.

La Indiana Tamales, 1142 S. Indiana St., Los Angeles. (213) 262-4682.

Cinco Puntos, 3300 Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 261-4084.