The Enchiladas from Tula, Tamaulipas (Enchiladas Tultecas)
The Enchiladas Tultecas is the enchiladas recipe from the Tula region in Tamaulipas. The tortillas are made with corn dough that is colored red, the coloration given by the blended cascabel chiles, chiles pasillas and spices; these enchiladas are garnshed with a topping made with chorizos, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese and pickled piquín chiles; and traditonally they aren't served rolled, but just laid flat on the plate!
Tamaulipas offers many dishes for the visitors to try: for breakfast you can start your day with a Guayín with eggs, salsa and beans; later in the day we can continue our exploration of the local gastronomy with a northern menudo or some of the local tamales. Then, for dinner one can’t afford to miss the gorditas and these enchiladas Tultecas, served with a good Mezcal…
The Enchiladas from Tula
* 6 cups corn flour for tortillas or equivalent corn masa
* 8 cascabel peppers
* 4 average potatoes, peeled
* 2 lb. (950 g.) chorizo sausages
* 2 carrots, peeled
* 2 onions
* Enough mexican crumbly cheese
* 1/2 lettuce, shredded
* Pickled piquín chiles, to taste
* salt
Making this recipe:
1) Put the dry chilies to soak in hot water for 10 minutes until they become tender. Blend the cascabel and pasilla chiles in a blender with the colored water they soaked in.
2) Add these liquefied chiles to the corn flour (or masa) which you will knead and add the right amount of water to make sure the dough has the appropriate consistency for tortillas and a deep red color. Form the tortillas with a tortilla press; typically the tortillas are made smaller and thicker than the ones for tacos and should stay soft.
3) Meanwhile, cook the potatoes and the carrots in boiling water; when they are cooked dice them and put them in a skillet to fry with the chorizo sausages and the carrots; reserve when the chorizo is cooked. Separately fry the sliced onion with the crumbled cheese mixed in.
4) Now that the filling is ready, we can proceed to fry the tortillas in hot oil one by one, then lay them flat on a plate, at their center we put some chorizo with potatoes and carrots, then top with the onions with crumbled cheese. When you have four or five small enchiladas per plate, we place some shredded lettuce on top and some pickled piquín chiles are placed on the side, to follow Tamaulipas tradition...
