When I am stumped on what to prepare for dinner, picadillo is an easy option. And why gorditas when you can just warm up some tortillas? Besides the fact that they are delicious, I want to continue practicing the traditional dishes that I grew up enjoying.
Why it’s a good idea to always have a few jars of homemade salsa in your refrigerator!
I prepare salsa often! It’s a good idea to have it ready made for enjoying as a snack, but most importantly for quick recipes. This salsa recipe is just one of the many variations that you can prepare. Pick your favorite chile peppers, mix tomato with tomatillos or mix fresh peppers with assorted dried chiles. It’s up to you. There are no set rules when it comes to preparing fresh salsa.
Testing, Testing! A new video app!
If you would have told me that I would be producing food videos one day I would have said you were crazy! Lol! The whole process has been such a great learning experience. I am still learning, and I really enjoy it! Slowly, but surely, I hope to produce videos for some of my older recipes that are popular. Do you prefer the quick 90 second videos or the extended three-minute videos with more step-by-step narration?
I don’t know of any Mexican family that didn’t has a picadillo recipe in their family recipes.
Memories of getting home from school and smelling the aromas of picadillo and fideo or sopa de arroz cooking! The best! Combining the soupy fideo with the picadillo and frijoles de la olla was my favorite and still is! Do you have a favorite picadillo recipe and how do you prefer to enjoy it? Tacos dorados, tostadas, sopes or scooped into a warm tortilla? Mom’s picadillo con papas recipe was most times prepared for chiles rellenos. We loved it so much that she prepared it often and not just for rellenos.
I love carne molida(ground beef) but try chopping your favorite steak like carne picada! Tasty! I do that occasionally and it’s delicious as well. Try it with pork butt and prepare chorizo norteño or chorizo casero recipes here on my blog.
What’s different about this gordita recipe?
What’s different is the added all-purpose flour to the masa. I fell it yields a softer more flexible gordita in the end. Of course, you can skip the ap flour if you prefer. They will still be delicious! Check out my original gordita recipe here. Then check of the fried quesadillas recipe and you will see the difference in the texture with and without ap-flour.
Then there were gorditas!
Whether you decide to simply prepare them on the comal(griddle) or deep fry them, definitely a must try! Just make sure all of your fillings are ready and warm. Gorditas are best enjoyed when they are freshly cooked. You can slice them open, add cheese inside and then place them back onto the comal just until the cheese melts. Tasty!
Gorditas de Picadillo
Equipment
- large comal, griddle
- Blender
- Large skillet
Ingredients
Roasted Salsa
- 4 Medium to large Roma tomatoes
- 3-5 chile serrano
- 1 tbsp fresh chile piquin or dried it's optional if you like the salsa more spicy
- 1 small white onion
- 2-4 cloves of garlic
- cilantro, to taste
- Juice of 1 large lime
- Salt, to taste
Picadillo
- 1 lb fresh nopales(cactus), diced
- Avocado oil
- 1 c Onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground chuck or sirloin
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 c roasted salsa, see recipe above
Gorditas
- 2 c yellow or white corn Masa Harina
- 3 tbsps all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsps pork lard or avocado oil then more for frying
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
Garnishes
- Red or green salsa
- queso fresco, crumbled
- Mexican crema
- Lettuce or cabbage, shredded
- avocado slices
- thin sliced onion
Instructions
Roasted Salsa
- Place the tomatoes, serranos, onion and garlic on a preheated griddle that is lined with foil paper. This is for easy clean up, but you can omit it if you prefer.
- Drizzle on 1 tsps of avocado oil, then turn ingredients so they are lightly coated. This will help the ingredients roast quicker. Turn ingredients as needed for the next 20 minutes. Remove the garlic after 15 minutes and reserve. When ready, transfer roasted ingredients to the blender, make sure to remove husks from the garlic. Add the cilantro, lime juice and salt. Pulse to blend for a coarse salsa.
Picadillo Con Nopales
- In a large skillet, preheat 2 tbsps. of oil at medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the diced nopales. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Saute for another 5 minutes or until the nopales have released all of their water.
- When ready, move the nopales to one side of the skillet. Add the beef. Season with 1/2 tsp. each of salt and pepper. Keep the beef on one side until nicely browned. Stir as needed. When ready, combine the beef and nopales. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Pour in the salsa. Stir well to combine and simmer for 10 minutes. The picadillo recipe is good for 12 or more gorditas!
Gorditas
- In a large bowl, combine the masa harina, ap flour and salt. Mix in the pork lard or oil. Gradually mix in the hot water. The water amount may be a little more or a little less. the masa will let you know as you knead it. When ready, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, you will divide the masa into 6 equal portions. Roll into balls and keep covered with a damp paper towel. At this point you want to preheat your griddle/comal for several minutes at medium heat.
- In a small bowl, add some water. Keep it near your workspace where you will be cooking the gorditas. Wet the palms of your hands and form the gordita by moving and slightly flattening the masa ball with the palms of your hands. Once it flattens, rotate it gently smoothing out the edges as needed. These gorditas are about 4 1/2-5 inches in diameter.
- Place gorditas on preheated surface. Let them cook for at least 3 minutes before attempting to flip over. You should see some browning. If it too light, let it cook another minute or so. If the spots are too dark, turn the heat down slightly. When ready, flip the gorditas and cook for another 3 minutes. At some point you should see the gorditas inflate slightly. That is a good indicator that they are ready.
- Keep cooked gorditas in a tortilla warmer. If you prefer a deep fried gordita that will inflate even more, transfer comal cooked gorditas directly to preheated oil in a skillet. Fry for just 30 seconds per side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Gorditas must be sliced open while they are warm to create that pocket. If they get too cold the masa will stick together. Fill refried beans or your favorite guisado and serve right away. Top with your favorite garnishes.
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Hello there,
For me a three minute video would work best.
Thank you
This all sounds so delicious! Thank you for all the hard work that goes into these e mails. I can’t wait to try the Piccadilly gorditas. Delish!
Thank you Carrie!
Gorditas ! yes please. I like the corn masa gorditas, but ap gorditas are delicious too. Of course I have salsas in the fridge, just ready for anything, tacos, eggs, pork chops, picadillo. Now the vidios, if its a recipe with not to many ingredients, the short version will work. If it has many ingredients and more labor intensive, the extended three-minute videos with more step-by-step narration would help.. Thanks for the wonderful recipes Fan & Follower
Thank you Boo! I always appreciate your feedback!