Ingredients
Base
- 12corn tortillas, a day old
- oil, for frying
- salt
Topping
- 400 grefried red beans
- 200 gqueso seco or cotija, finely crumbled
To serve
- curtido
- chismol
- hot sauce
Directions
- Use tortillas that are a day old and slightly dried out. Fresh soft ones soak up oil and go greasy rather than crisping.
- Heat about 1 cm of oil in a frying pan to roughly 180°C (355°F).
- Fry the tortillas one or two at a time for 30 to 45 seconds a side, holding them flat with a spatula so they do not curl.
- Take them out while they are still just short of the colour you want, because they go on crisping and darkening on the residual heat as they drain.
- Drain them on a wire rack rather than on paper, and salt them lightly while they are still hot.
- Warm the refried beans until they are spreadable but still thick. Runny beans soften the tortilla within a minute, and a crisp base is the entire point of the dish.
- Spread a generous layer of beans over each tortilla, right out to the edge.
- Cover heavily with crumbled dry cheese, considerably more than looks reasonable, because the salty cheese is the counterweight to the sweetness of the beans.
- Serve immediately, with curtido or chismol offered on the side rather than piled on top.
- Assemble to order. A catracha built even ten minutes early is a soggy one and no amount of cheese hides it.
Technique
- Dry tortillas, thick beans, assembled at the last possible moment. That is the whole recipe.
- Catracho, the nickname for Hondurans, comes from General Florencio Xatruch, whose troops fought William Walker in 1856.
- Queso seco is hard, dry and salty rather than melting. It is meant to sit on top in crumbles, not to melt into the beans.
Substitutions
- Shop-bought tostadas, which skip the frying entirely.
- Feta rinsed and dried thoroughly, or a dry ricotta salata, in place of queso seco.
Variations
- With sliced avocado over the cheese.
- With crumbled chorizo.
- With a fried egg on top, which turns it into a breakfast.
History
Fried tortillas with beans and cheese; catracho, the nickname for Hondurans, comes from General Florencio Xatruch, whose troops fought William Walker in 1856.
Frequently asked questions
What is Catrachas?
Catrachas is a snack from Honduras: crisp tortillas spread with refried beans and crumbled cheese. Fried tortillas with beans and cheese; catracho, the nickname for Hondurans, comes from General Florencio Xatruch, whose troops fought William Walker in 1856.
How long does Catrachas take to make?
Catrachas takes 10 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 catrachas. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Catrachas?
Yes, within limits. Shop-bought tostadas, which skip the frying entirely. Feta rinsed and dried thoroughly, or a dry ricotta salata, in place of queso seco.
What is the most important thing to get right in Catrachas?
Use tortillas that are a day old and slightly dried out. Fresh soft ones soak up oil and go greasy rather than crisping.
