Garnachas

Ingredients

Tortillas

• 400 gmasa harina
• 1 tspsalt
• 500 mlwarm water

Meat topping

• 2 tbspoil
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 500 gminced beef
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• salt and pepper

Curtido

• 1small onion, very finely sliced
• 3 tbspwhite vinegar
• 1 tspsugar
• 1/2 tspsalt

Salsa

• 4tomatoes
• 1garlic clove
• 1/2onion
• salt

To finish

• 150 gqueso seco or hard salty cheese, finely grated

For frying

• 500 mloil

Directions

1. Put the masa harina and salt in a bowl and pour in most of the warm water. Mix it with your hand until it comes together into a smooth dough. Add the remaining water a little at a time until it feels like soft modelling clay. It should not crack at the edges when you press a ball flat.
2. Cover the dough and let it stand for ten minutes to hydrate fully. Divide it into sixteen pieces and roll each into a ball. Press each ball into a disc about seven centimetres across. Make them about eight millimetres thick, which is roughly double a normal tortilla. Now frying the bases, which is done before any topping goes on.
3. Heat the oil in a wide pan to about 180C. Fry the discs in batches for about two minutes a side. They should be golden and firm, and should sound hollow when tapped. Lift them onto a rack over paper so they drain and stay crisp. A base drained on a flat plate goes soggy underneath within minutes.
4. Warm the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook it for five minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook it for a further minute. Add the minced beef and break it up well as it browns.
5. Cook it for about ten minutes until browned and any liquid has gone. Stir in the tomatoes, cumin and oregano and season it. Cook it for another eight minutes until the mixture is thick and almost dry. A wet topping will soften the fried base immediately, so cook it down properly.
6. Put the very finely sliced onion in a bowl with the vinegar, sugar and salt. Toss it and leave it for at least twenty minutes. Char the tomatoes, garlic and onion half in a dry pan over a high heat. Turn them until they are blackened in patches all over, about eight minutes. Blend them together with a good pinch of salt until smooth. Pass it through a sieve if you want it thinner and cleaner.
7. Lay the fried bases out on a serving plate. Spoon a tablespoon of the meat mixture onto each one. Top each with a small tangle of the pickled onion. Grate the hard salty cheese generously over the whole plate. Spoon the roasted salsa over the top, or serve it in a bowl alongside.
8. Serve them immediately, three or four to a plate. Assembled garnachas soften within ten minutes, so they are built to order.

Technique

• Make the bases about twice the thickness of a normal tortilla so they hold the topping.
• Cook the meat until almost dry, since a wet topping softens the fried base.
• Assemble at the last moment, because they go soft within ten minutes.

Substitutions

• Shop-bought thick tortillas, fried, if you are not making masa.
• Cotija or a hard salty pecorino in place of queso seco.

Variations

• With refried black beans spread under the meat.
• With shredded chicken in place of beef.
• Topped with pickled cabbage curtido instead of onion.

History

A fairground and park-bench snack sold three or four to a plate from carts in Guatemalan towns.

Frequently asked questions

What is Garnachas?

Garnachas is a street food from Guatemala: small thick tortillas fried and topped with mince, onion, cheese and salsa. A fairground and park-bench snack sold three or four to a plate from carts in Guatemalan towns.

How long does Garnachas take to make?

Garnachas takes 40 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 16 garnachas. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Garnachas?

Yes, within limits. Shop-bought thick tortillas, fried, if you are not making masa. Cotija or a hard salty pecorino in place of queso seco.

What is the most important thing to get right in Garnachas?

Lay the fried bases out on a serving plate. Spoon a tablespoon of the meat mixture onto each one. Top each with a small tangle of the pickled onion. Grate the hard salty cheese generously over the whole plate. Spoon the roasted salsa over the top, or serve it in a bowl alongside.