The Tlayudas are a typical dish from Oaxacan cuisine, similar to a large tortilla crispy, filled with various ingredients.
They are prepared in different versions, but the traditional version from Oaxaca includes quesillo cheese, meat, beans and spicy sauce prepared in the molcajete (Mexican mortar), but also chopped cabbage or lettuce, tesajo (a smoked beef cut sold in Oaxaca similar to beef jerky).
The tlayuda, also known as clayuda, usually has a diameter of 12-16 inches and is roasted on a griddle usually made of clay called “anafre“, which gives it a greater hardness compared to a conventional tortilla, and stored in a tenate, a basket made of palm leaves.
It is also spread with asiento (unrefined pork fat) and pieces of pork cracklings.
The tortilla can be folded, forming a sort of quesadilla, and is usually accompanied by avocado, tomato or with roasted green chili, commonly called chile de agua, roasted cambray onions and, optionally, lemon.
Some also accompany Tlayudas with radishes and some sprigs of a herb called chepiches, similar in taste to cilantro, typical of Oaxaca.
The recipe is dedicated to the film “Emilia Perez” for the Oscar Menu, nominated for 13 Oscars including Best Film 2025.
Plot: the film is set in Mexico, where lawyer Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana) lives and works.
One day, she receives an unexpected offer: to help a local boss, linked to the Mexican cartel, retire from his shady businesses and disappear forever.
The man (the transgender Karla Sofía Gascón) wants to undergo sex reassignment surgery not only to evade the authorities but also to finally live the life with the gender he has always felt he belongs to.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Grill
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 4 corn tortillas (large)
- 7 oz frijoles
- 14 oz Oaxaca cheese or quesillo (or mozzarella)
- to taste lettuce
- 2 avocado
- 5 oz cured meat (sliced)
- 2 onion
- to taste hot sauce
- to taste vegetable oil (or butter or lard)
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste salt
Steps
If you want to make the tortilla: follow the recipe.
Prepare the beans: boil the beans until they soften, drain without discarding the cooking water, and sauté the beans with a fat and an onion and garlic until reduced to a paste with the optional addition of cooking water.
Prepare the cured meat: cook the meat for a few seconds on a hot griddle.
Heat the tortilla: heat a large tortilla on a grill or a pan until crispy, but not too hard. You can also heat it over the fire to make it crispier.
Assemble the tlayuda: once the tortilla is ready, spread a layer of mashed beans on the surface and if you like, add some fat (lard, oil, or butter).Then add the meat, crumbled Oaxaca cheese, sliced onion, chopped lettuce, and sliced avocado.
Place the tlayuda back on the grill or in a pan for a few minutes, until the cheese melts and the tortilla becomes even crispier.
Once ready, add hot sauce to taste and serve immediately. You can also add lime or lemon for a fresh touch and accompany with roasted chili.
Storage:
The small amount of salt in the dough of nixtamal (corn grits boiled and left to rest in a strongly alkaline solution of calcium hydroxide), with which it is sometimes prepared, as well as its cooking almost to toasting, ensure the tlayuda lasts longer without decomposing, unlike common tortillas.
The small amount of salt in the dough of nixtamal (corn grits boiled and left to rest in a strongly alkaline solution of calcium hydroxide), with which it is sometimes prepared, as well as its cooking almost to toasting, ensure the tlayuda lasts longer without decomposing, unlike common tortillas.
