BALEADA RECIPES

Steps:

• Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then gradually start adding the liquid while continuously mixing. The mixture will first turn into a paste, but keep kneading it until you get a soft dough.
• Divide the dough into golf-sized balls and leave them to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• To prepare each tortilla, first, pat the dough with your hands to flatten it a bit, then stretch it further with a rolling pin.
• Before placing it on a griddle, adjust the thickness by stretching it with your hands.
• Cook it for two minutes over medium heat, and then flip it and cook for another minute on the other side.

Steps:

• CHISMOL
• - Mix all ingredients together in a small or medium bowl, add salt, pepper, and cumin little by little until reached your desired intensity. Make sure everything is at least half covered by the lime juice and vinegar, that way they cook themselves with it and absorb the flavor uniformly. Rest for at least 1 hour.
• THE EXTRAS
• FOR PORK OR BEEF - You can use any meat you desire. Use your favorite marinade or do one yourself with just adding the juice of one lime, salt, pepper, oregano & grated garlic. Leave meat in the marinade for at least 30 minutes for a penetrating flavor. Cook it on a grill or normal pan until golden crispy on the edges. FOR CHORIZO - Pan the chorizo slices until crispy on the edges. FOR CHICKEN: - Pulled chicken is the perfect fit for a baleada. I'd recommend a barbecue-tomato sauce but you can use any other sauce you'd like, or just not use one at all! You can get creative here. Just cook the chicken in salted boiling water, shred it and do whatever you want with it! My recommendation: always go golden crispy. FOR PLANTAINS: - Cover pan in oil and fry plantain slices on medium-high heat until cook inside for at least 2 minutes until golden brown. Put the fried plantains on a dish covered with towel paper to absorb excess oil.
• REFRIED BEANS
• REFRIED BEANS *Note: Refried beans should have a creamy texture. If you bought a can of whole kidney beans, just wash them and blend them with a bit of water until reached your desired creamy texture. If you bought a bag or can of already mashed refried beans, I'd still recommend refrying them with caramelized onion for a better flavor: - Heat oil over medium-high and fry onions until golden crispy. Lower heat to medium-low, add garlic and let it cook until aromatic. Add mashed beans and mix thoroughly until bean mixture starts bubbling, add salt to taste. If the refried beans are drying up and sticking to the pan, add a bit of oil and water to recover the creamy texture.
• THE BALEADA
• CLASSIC BALEADA The base of every baleada is a beautiful warmed wheat-flour tortilla, you can either buy it at your local supermarket. For a better texture and quality, go to an Asian or Indian market and get a package of classic naan (thin, if available) or chapatti. - For a classic baleada, warm both sides of a tortilla on a dry normal or grill pan for a few seconds over medium-high heat until soft (for an extra crunch, leave it a bit longer). Place tortilla on a plate and add 2-4 tablespoons of refried beans, shredded/crumbled cheese and salted sour cream to taste. Fold the tortilla in half and it's ready to eat. It's that easy! BALEADA "CON TODO" - Which means "with everything." Add your desired amount of all the extra ingredients to the tortilla, sprinkle with chismol, fold in half, and enjoy. At any baleada stand in Honduras, that usually means a classic baleada with scrambled eggs, avocado, and meat plus a little bit of chismol or encurtido (pickled onion and jalapeno). Some add plantain to it (if available), but usually after asking specifically for it. My recommendation and my all time favorite is a classic baleada with avocado, grilled meat, fried plantains and a good amount of spicy chismol. But the great thing about a baleada is that you have complete control on how it's going to taste. You can add whatever you want to each portion, you can try different combinations, and you can eat it at any time of the day! You can hardly go wrong. Just be creative.