Picadas Veracruzanas
Ingredients
For the Picadas:
- 240 g Masa Harina (maize flour “nixtamalized” or “pre-cooked”) *
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 300 ml water
For the red Salsa:
- 1 can tomatoes (mashed)
- 1 green pointed peppers (roughly diced) **
- small onion (roughly diced)
- 2 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
- 1/2 - 1 green jalapeño chilli (finely diced) *** if necessary, remove the pips before
- 1/2 bunch Coriander (roughly chopped)
- 1 - 2 tbsp. Lime juice
- 1 tbsp. Weißweinessig
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- brown sugar
- salt
- pepper
For the green Salsa:
- 1 onion (roughly diced)
- 3 Cloves of garlic (finely diced)
- 3 - 4 green jalapeño chili *** (cored and cut into fine strips)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 bunch Coriander
- 1 can Tomatillos (800 g filling weight) ****
- salt
- pepper
For completion:
- red Salsa
- green Salsa
- some chopped onion
- some cheese (preferably feta or mozzarella)
- some crème fraîche
- some clarified butter for baking
Instructions
For the Picadas:
- Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Gradually add the water. Keep kneading the dough. It should be soft and pliable like clay.
- The best way to check the consistency is as follows: Take a small ball and press it into a flat cake. If it stays smooth around the edges, the batter is perfect. If it breaks open strongly, the dough is still too dry. Then add a little more water (a tablespoon at a time).
- Divide the dough into 16 equal portions and shape into balls. Put these in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth.
- Heat pan very hot without oil.
- Eine Kugel mit dem Nudelholz oder der Hand - zwischen Klarsichtfolie oder in einer großen aufgeschnitteten Gefriertüte - ca. 5 - 7 mm dick flach drücken.
- Bake the flatbreads on both sides for about 1 minute. Take the flatbread out of the pan and let it rest under a tea towel for approx. 1 minute.
- Press the dough lightly with your fingers in the middle and carefully press the outer edge up a little with your fingers.
- Proceed accordingly with the other dough balls.
- Keep picadas warm in a cloth towel.
For the red Salsa:
- Tomaten, Paprika, Chili, Zwiebel, Knoblauch mit Limettensaft, Essig, Kreuzkümmel und 2 - 3 Prisen braunem Zucker vermischen.
- Bei kleiner Hitze ca. 8 - 10 Minuten köcheln lassen.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the green Salsa:
- Heat olive oil in a pan.
- Zwiebeln und Knoblauch leicht andünsten. Chili hinzufügen und weitere 3 - 4 Minuten dünsten (nicht: braten).
- Then add the tomatoes with the liquid from the can and puree finely with a blender.
- Bei mittlerer Hitze 15 - 20 Minuten leicht köcheln lassen. Dabei regelmäßig umrühren.
- Let cool before serving.
For completion:
- Just before serving, heat some clarified butter in a pan. Lightly fry the picadas in the hot lard, adding a dollop of clarified butter from above.
- When the picadas are golden-brown at the bottom and the lard has melted on top, top with salsa, cheese and crème fraîche.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
*Masa Harina is a special corn flour that is used in Mexico and Latin America for the preparation of tortillas, tamales, arepas, etc. Corn flour without the addition “nixtamalized” or “pre-cooked” is not suitable for making tortillas, tamales or arepas. You can find Masa Harina not only in stores specialized in groceries for Latin American foods, but even at Rewe.
** Green pointed peppers are available in a Turkish grocery store. Of course, you can also use normal (green) peppers as an alternative.
*** Jalapeño kommen aus Mexiko und sind nach der Stadt "Jalapa" in Veracruz benannt. Sie sind sehr saftig, bleiben lange grün und sind vergleichsweise mild. Jalapeño bekommt Ihr auch in gut sortierten Supermärkten oder türkischen Lebensmittelgeschäften.
****Tomatillos: They are often referred to as green tomatoes, but tomatillos belong to the physalis family. They are mainly used in Mexican cuisine for salsas and stir-fried vegetables. It's hard to get them raw here. Therefore, you should use canned tomatillos that are available in stores for Latin American food such as Worldster (with online shipping).