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📍 Veracruz

Veracruz-style picadas

· Breakfast

Thick tortillas with a pinched rim, red or green salsa, onion, and fresh cheese.

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Veracruz-style picadas: Thick tortillas with a pinched rim, red or green salsa, onion, and fresh cheese.
Photo: Koffermejia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 40 min🍽 4 servings📊 Easy🏷 Commonly associated
Preparation
20 min
Cooking
20 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

A typical Veracruz breakfast served in diners and markets. The pinched rim holds the salsa that covers them, red or green depending on the house.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Form thick tortillas and pinch the edges as they come off the comal.

  2. 2

    Spread a little lard over the surface.

  3. 3

    Cover each picada with red or green salsa.

  4. 4

    Sprinkle with chopped onion.

  5. 5

    Add crumbled fresh cheese.

  6. 6

    Serve hot, freshly assembled.

Cooking tips

  • Pinch the tortilla as soon as it is cool enough to handle and finish with hot sauce.

Technique and preparation

What to check during preparation

Shape masa discs of similar thickness and cook both faces on the griddle. Pinch a low rim while they remain flexible, taking care with the heat. Cook the base before adding fat and salsa. Use a small amount of salsa thick enough to stay within the rim. Add cheese and onion just before serving. For several batches, keep bases covered and finish toppings at serving time.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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