You will never look like a burrito again for calling some tacos or quesadillas ditto
Is rice with lobster the same as paella? And is a salmorejo the same as a gazpacho? Why not? Well neither do all dishes made with tortillas have interchangeable names in Mexico. Each one has its ingredients, its own liturgy, its secrets and its history behind it.
We spoke with Nacho Oropeza , the chef at Iztac , the new haute cuisine Mexican restaurant in the Chamartín neighborhood ( Madrid ), to clear up any doubts.
With him we have created this encyclopedia of mexican dishes made with tortillas for dummies in which we explain the differences between tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, flautas and tlayudas (with recommendations on where to eat each one, included).
You will never look like a burrito again for calling some tacos or quesadillas ditto.
Tacos: handmade tortilla that serves as a plate
TACOS
What are they?
The best way to eat a stew. Legend has it that at Aztec Emperor Moctezuma They cooked around 40 dishes for him every day, which were served on a handmade tortilla serving as a plate (or spoon, cut into pieces) .
Where are they from?
They are eaten throughout the country: from peninsula to peninsula. Everything seems to indicate that in Tenochtitlan originated the first ways of eating tacos and in Tehuacan Puebla , two hours from Mexico City, the record of the first maize crop was found.
How to know that you are facing one of category?
In the tortilla, which must be 100% nixtamalized corn. Pay attention to these recommendations: its color and smell They will tell us that it is actually made of corn; its elasticity (when squeezed it should not break easily and should recover its shape when the pressure is finished), cooking (it must be done in a clay comal and fire from the embers), the stew (the fundamental part of recognizing a good taco) .
How do you eat it?
1.There are choose one that has a good tortilla (as described) and that this be very hot.
two. The filling has to be in the center (some are served with a double tortilla to support the weight).
3.Add the amount of sauce, to taste of the diner, red, green, more or less spicy. In some taquerias they put a bar of complements that go from a variety of sauces, pickled onions, cilantro, cucumber, radishes, beans, pickled cabbage...
Four. The lemon can not miss (the lime of Spain) .
5.To eat the taco, tortillas are folded in half. They are held with the thumb and index finger, leaving the three fingers raised.
When is the best time to eat it and what would you accompany it with?
Tacos are eaten at all hours of the day, but The ones that Nacho enjoys the most are those after the party, at dawn, in the street stalls of Mexico. Also accompanied with family and friends, having a tequila, a jamaica water or a very spicy michelada, the best pairing.
Which ones are the best?
For our chef: the carnitas, the pastor and the Arabs, from his hometown, Puebla.
Where to try them in Spain?
In Madrid, at Mex&Co, Mawey, Salón Cascabel, Taquería Mi Ciudad or Cantina Roo. In Barcelona, the Old Boy.
Tacos al pastor, an infallible classic.
quesadillas
What are they?
A subject that causes controversy. The name itself tells you that they are with cheese, but for many Mexican comal cooks it is **a folded tortilla with a filling, to which cheese can be added (or not) **.
The most typical is the quesadilla with Oaxaca cheese, pressed chicarrón, apazote leaf, slice of fresh jalapeño pepper and pumpkin flower. In Jalisco and Mexico City (DF), they can be fried or a comal (a kind of clay dish that is placed over fire), the most typical.
Where do they originate from?
They are eaten throughout the country. In the Great Tenochtitlán, different tortillas were used, but the rise of quesadillas, as it is known today, it was after arrival to Mesoamerica from Europeans and its cheese making. Then, this dish is popularized in the central states of the Mexican Republic (Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Mexico City and Querétaro).
How to know that you are facing a category?
For the tortilla and its cooking: must be well cooked because if the dough is raw, the quesadilla will not taste as good.
Tips
You don't have to let it cool down before you can add the sauce. It is recommended to eat at the moment or store it in an airtight container and heat it on the griddle.
When is the best time to eat it and what would you accompany it with?
Some quesadillas in the market doing the purchase of the day, accompanied by a champurrado (typical Mexican preparation of atole, based on mashed corn dough, dark chocolate and, sometimes, water with vanilla).
Which are the best?
those of pressed pork rind in the street stalls of Mexico City, those of tinga of Puebla, those of coloradito and holy leaf of Oaxaca and those of marlin in Lower California.
Where to try them in Spain?
In Twelve Chiles (Madrid).
FAJITAS
What are they?
a plate that originates from the ranches of Texas, USA . It is a cut called matambre or skirt steak. From there derives the term fajita, which were small cuts and grilled, that were given to the workers accompanied by a wheat or corn tortilla.
Marching one of quesadillas!
In the 1970s it became popular in Texas and in the 1990s it spread internationally. being part of the birth of Tex-Mex cuisine. Therefore: NOT MEXICAN.
How to know that you are facing a category?
By the quality of meat and products accompany him.
Tips
It is eaten the same as in Spanish barbecues, accompanied by some beers; but with a variety of sauces, wheat tortilla, chorizo and a delicious guacamole.
When is the best time to eat them ?
Saturday or Sunday afternoon football with black beers or a good sotol or bacanora, as marked by northern traditions.
Which are the best?
at the butcher shop the bouquets from Monterrey.
Where to try them in Spain?
In American chain restaurants, unfortunately this plate has become very distorted.
ENCHILADAS
What are they?
A tortilla that is passed through adobo, mole or chilito , as this paste based on fresh chili and tomatoes is colloquially called in some towns in Mexico. Later, it is parboiled by lard, It is frequently stuffed with cheese and onion or ground beef, chicken... and decorated with cabbage, lettuce, cheese and cream.
Where do they originate from?
from the center of the country, although now they are consumed throughout Mexico, especially in the western part up to the Yucatecan peninsula.
A good fajita is distinguished by the quality of its meat and the ingredients that make it up
How to know that you are facing a category?
In the tortilla folding , in the color of marinade or sauce that bathes her and in her fittings.
Tips
eat them hot, Store them in the refrigerator and when they are hot, bathe them with a little more sauce.
When is the best time to eat them and what would you accompany them with?
In the cenadurías of Jalisco or Mexico City , accompanied by a Queretano wine or an Oaxacan mezcal.
Which are the best?
The enchiladas potosinas, the mineras and those of mole poblano.
Where to try them in Spain?
Mex&Co, El Alamillo, El Chaparrito and the conventual mole enchiladas in Iztac. Everyone in Madrid.
TLAYUDAS
What are they?
A typical tortilla from Oaxaca, also known as Clayuda, with a diameter of 30 centimeters. It is cooked in a clay comal to give it greater hardness and then it is grilled to strengthen its crunch.
It is a ceremonial dish, widely consumed at the Guelaguetza festivities. In the November 20 market, in Oaxaca, is your paradise.
They are made up of jerky (meat dried in the sun and then cooked on the grill) , Oaxaca cheese, chorizo, avocado and lettuce. And sometimes with the grasshoppers (insects) typical of the state.
enchiladas
Where do they originate from? Are they eaten throughout the country?
They are from Oaxaca and it is, rather, a regional dish.
How to know that you are facing a category?
For the tortilla, for its accessories, for the jerky.
Tips
Tradition says that you have to eat it with your hands, chopping it.
When is the best time?
At mid-day parties, at family gatherings and accompany it with tejate, a cocoa-based drink.
Which ones are the best?
Those of the oaxaca valley and those of market.
Where to try them in Spain?
At the Iztac restaurant in Madrid.
FLUTES
What are they?
It is known as a flute because it simulates the musical instrument. It is a tortilla of 20 centimeters in diameter to which some kind of stew is added, usually, ground beef, beans, and chicken and are fried in lard. Its peculiarity is that it has to be rolled very finely.
Where do they originate from? Are they eaten throughout the country?
Of Jalisco, although they are eaten throughout the republic. If they do not have the length of the flute, they are known as 'Golden tacos'.
How to know that you are before a category?
They have to be made of corn tortilla and very well rolled. In addition, as we have already said, they have to be around 20 centimeters.
The tlayudas must be eaten with your hands
Tips
Eat them by hand, freshly made. If they cool they get watery.
When is the best time to eat them and what would you accompany them with?
at dinner, dipped in sauce with lettuce and cream and paired with horchata water.
Which are the best?
Those of the dinners of Jalisco
Where to try them in Spain?
Tepic, in Madrid.
BURRITOS
What are they?
A way to keep food warm. Everything is born in Ciudad Juárez, in the state of Chihuahua, on the northern border. In 1910, john kings use the flour tortilla as a way to keep food at a good temperature for the workers who crossed the border every day.
Its peculiar way of rolling them and its meat-based stews they began to be accepted in the incipient gastronomic culture of Texas that, in the early 1970s, was consolidated as Tex Mex cuisine. An adaptation of Mexican migrants who missed their regional dishes.
Where are they from? Are they eaten throughout the country?
They are from Chihuahua and they are consumed in the states bordering Texas.
How to detect a fake?
The industrial yellow cheese and the combination of more than six ingredients.
How to know that you are before some category?
By the 'sobaquera tortilla' , the stews, the way of wrapping…
Tips
They are eaten by hand and opening his mouth wide, after adding green or red sauce. They keep in the refrigerator and can be heated in the microwave.
When is the best time to eat it and what would you accompany it with?
Generally, in the morning they eat those of machaca with egg, chilorio with beans or roast beef. At night they prefer the percherones or drowned of Hermosillo. A beer is the best pairing.
Which ones are the best?
Those from the town of Smoked Villa , in Chihuahua; those of The cousins , in Hermosillo; Y the lunch shops , some food trucks that arrive at factories, in Texas.
Where to try them in Spain?
Nowhere. Everything sold here is influenced by industrial fast food, without respecting the real origins of the burrito.
If they have more than six ingredients or industrial cheese they are a 'fake'