Gorditas

Gorditas are one of those perfect quick Mexican recipes that you can have on the go and eat with your hands. What are gorditas? They mainly consist of pockets made with corn flour dough known as “masa”. They are then loaded with the most delicious savoury fillings. 

A typical vegetarian gorditas recipe would be a cheese gorditas or a bean gorditas, and others can also contain nopalitos (cactus). Alternatively, there are more complex fillings like mole with chicken and slow cooked shredded beef “deshebrada” with a spicy sauce.

Mexican gorditas are sold in little stalls and markets on the streets of Mexico. Here, expert female cooks prepare a huge amount of them during lunchtime. Big casseroles keep the different fillings warm and are there for you to choose which gorditas ingredients you would like. They are prepared fresh as you put your order in.

Making gorditas at home is not too difficult at all, and first of all you’ll need to get corn flour for your masa recipe. The same kind you would use to make corn tortillas is needed here. Mix it with a bit of salt and water until you get a not too sticky but still moist masa. Shape them with your hands, pressing and making masa circles between the palms of your hands. Then warm them up over a hot pan, a few minutes on each side, and open them with a sharp knife forming a pocket inside your masa disc.

The difference between sopes and gorditas is that gorditas are a pocket-like shape made of masa whereas sopes are more of a vessel that you add toppings to. Even though they might sound quite similar, once you try them you can see that they’re both very different!

For our gorditas recipe, we went with a classic picadillo filling (minced beef fried with potatoes) that we prepared using Gran Luchito Chipotle Paste. We then serve them with crumbled feta cheese, a spoonful of creme fraiche, and please don’t forget a good amount of Gran Luchito Chipotle Salsa!

Note – This recipe makes about ten 10cm diameter gorditas.