SAN LUIS STYLE TACOS

SAN LUIS STYLE TACOS

The San Luis stuffed tortillas are a favorite breakfast dish, especially on Sundays, of people who gather in Morales Park. The park area is filled with food stands in which vendors prepare the stuffed tortillas, serving them with Strong, hot black coffee.

PREPARE THE DOUGH:

Put masa in a glass bowl. Add a little water and salt and knead until dough is smooth but not sticky. Set aside.

Prepare the bean stuffing:

Heat beans and mash them, using the back of a spoon, to form a thick puree. Keep puree hot.

PREPARE THE NOPAL STUFFING:

Heat oil in a saucepan.

Add garlic doves, and brown. Remove garlic; add chopped garlic, and cook until golden. Add chites and nopal strips. Saute for 8 to I0 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep stuffing hot.

Prepare the chile strips: Heat oil in a saucepan; Add onion, and saute. Add chile strips, and saute for 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

PREPARE THE BEEF:

Heat oil in a casserole. Saute onion. Add beef, tomato puree, and garlic. Cook over low heat, stirring with a spoon, until mixture begins to thicken. Add potatoes and chile strips. Continue cooking until sauce is thick. Put together.

Heat a comal or griddle. Make small tortillas, about 2 inches in diameter. Heat on comal, and press centers with a dry dish cloth to encourage puffing. Remove tortillas from heat and slit tortilla puff, lifting top layer with a knife. Daub inside with bean puree, and then stuff with a little nopal mixture, chile strips, and shredded meat.

Reheat stuffed tortilla before serving or keep warm on the edge of the comal.

To serve, place tortillas on a platter; and serve while hot.

Makes 24 tortillas

Ingredients

• Queso Fresco
• 2 ¼ pounds fresh masa or equivalent made with masa harina
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups pinto beans, cooked and puréed
• 1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, whole, plus 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
• 4 to 6 chiles de árbol, finely chopped
• 2 cups tender nopales (cactus pads), sliced in thin strips
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1½ green onions, finely chopped
• 6 chile poblanos, roasted, peeled, seeded, de­ veined, soaked in salted water, and sliced in thin strips or cubed
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup green onion, chopped
• 0 to 11 ounces beef skirt steak, cooked with I onion, 6 garlic doves and salt for I hour or until tender, and shredded
• medium tomatoes, puréed
• gloves garlic, puréed
• ½ cup red potato, boiled and finely chopped
• cup pickle or canned chile jalapeno strips