Recipes: Panuchos de Tinga

Despite common belief that Mexican cuisine consists of just tacos and burritos, it is extremely diverse and beyond delicious. I first discovered panuchos when I was coming up with something to take to a potluck. I read a few recipes and came up with my own interpretation. They are a sort of tostada that can be eaten on its own or topped with whatever you like! My personal favorite is tinga! These are great because you can prepare large quantities if necessary and personlize them individually. You can even make multiple toppings!

Tinga de Pollo

Ingredients (8 panuchos)

- 2 chicken breasts

- 1 onion, thinly sliced

- 3 tomatoes

- 1/2 onion

- olive oil

- chipotle chiles in adobo, depends how spicy you want your tinga

- salt 

Instructions

Place chicken breasts, half onion, tomatoes, olive oil and salt in a pot. Cover with water and place over high heat until the chicken is cooked through and the skin on the tomatoes begins to rip. The chicken will probably take longer to cook, so take out the tomatoes beforehand if necessary. Once the chicken is cooked through remove it from the water and shred it. Make sure to keep the water; you'll need it for the panuchos. Blend the boiled tomatoes, chipotles, and some of the water from the chicken until smooth. (Note: If you don't have a blender, wait for the tomatoes to cool and grate them. Chop the chipotles as thinly as you can and mix them together!). Heat some olive oil in a large pan and sauté the thinly sliced onion. Once the onions have softened, add your tomato and chipotle sauce and bring to a simmer. Add shredded chicken and season with salt to taste. Let it cook for about 20 minutes. 

Panuchos

Ingredients (8 panuchos)

- 1 cup maseca

- 3/4 cups warm water

- salt to taste

- 1 can refried black beans

- frying oil

- tortilla press (If you don't have one, any round flat surface will work just fine.)

Instructions

In a bowl mix  maseca and salt. Add warm water and mix thoroughly to form a soft dough. Make 8 normal sized balls and 8 smaller balls. Place a large ball in the tortilla press and press. Remove and spread a small amount of the refried black beans on the tortilla, forming a smaller circle. Press one of the smaller balls and cover the beans on the first tortilla. Using some water soften the edges of the small tortilla so that it fuses with the larger tortilla. Repeat with the rest of your dough balls. You might need to make more dough depending on how big your tortillas are coming out. Heat up your frying oil in a medium pan and fry up the panuchos until golden brown. Make sure to not crowd the pan; only fry two or three panuchos at a time. 

Pickled Red Onion (optional)

Ingredients

- 1 red onion, thinly sliced

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- 1 cup hot water

- 2 cups white wine vinegar

- 2 salt

Instructions

Place sliced onion in a bowl and cover with hot water and vinegar. Add sugar and salt and give it a nice stir. Make sure all the onion is covered by liquid. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes. I recommend doing this before anything else. The longer the onions are in the vinegar the better! 

Assembly

Serve panuchos with tinga and pickled onion. I also like to add some sour cream, cilantro, chopped iceberg lettuce, and avocado. These are great because you can try out different combinations and put as much or as little toppings as you like!