Don’t worry… you’re not wrong… This is the column of Around the World in 15 Sandwiches, and the torta, in Mexico, is synonymous with sandwich… yes, because if you crave something sweet, you should know that in Mexico you need to ask for a tarta, not a torta.
The torta, in Mexico, is the typical lunch for those with little to spend but in need of something substantial and easily transportable. In northern Mexico, the torta is often called lonche due to the influence of the English “lunch.”
It is essentially a sandwich filled with avocado, meat, tomato, onions, cheese (queso panela) and chili pepper, but there isn’t just one recipe; instead, there are many variants* that typically give the sandwich its name.
Usually, telera bread is used, a white bread made from wheat flour, about six and a half inches long, flattened, and oval-shaped with two longitudinal cuts on the top.
To replicate it, you can also use what is known in Italy as “pane arabo” (khubz – very flat, lightly baked) or a mini-baguette.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 sandwiches
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 21 oz ground beef
- 4 pita breads or mini baguettes
- 1 avocado (ripe)
- 1 tomato
- 7 oz panela cheese (white, fresh, and soft made of pasteurized cow's milk)
- 3 fresh chili peppers (such as guajillo, ancho, chipotles adobados)
- to taste salt
Preparation
Soak the chili peppers in boiling water and let them soften. When they are tender, open them and remove the seeds, then chop them finely and mix with the ground meat.
Divide the meat into four equal parts and shape into balls to flatten.
Cook the meat for a few minutes, season with salt, and then place on the halved, lightly toasted bread.
Continue with the other sliced ingredients: avocado, tomato, onions, and cheese.
*The different variants:
Torta de pierna de puerco, with pork leg and bacon.
De jamón, with ham.
Torta ahogada, a variant served in a deep dish because it is soaked with the meat’s cooking sauce with a bread known as “birote” or “birote salado” with a crunchier crust less permeable inside.
Filled with carnitas Jalisco style (pork cooked in lard), it can be sliced, diced or in pieces, then submerged in the spicy sauce of a variety of chili called “chile de árbol” seasoned with wine vinegar, cumin, and garlic.
Tomato sauce is added afterward. Lastly, slices of onion soaked with lemon juice are also added.
Torta cubana, stuffed with a variety of meats depending on where it is made. Do not confuse it with the “cuban sandwich” which is a variation of a ham and cheese sandwich born in Florida.
Torta de aguacate, torta filled with avocado.
De huevo, torta filled with scrambled eggs.
Torta de milanesa, torta filled with “milanesa” style meat.
Tartaruga, chicken torta filled with sope, which is a filled corn tortilla.
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