Panucho is a Yucatan specialty originating from Merida where a street food vendor named Don Hucho famously served bread with beans and a boiled egg to passing travelers. As the dish evolved, the bread was replaced with tortillas topped with refried black beans, chopped cabbage, pulled chicken or turkey, tomato, pickled red onion, avocado, and pickled jalapeño pepper.

Ingredients:

300 grams masa for tortillas

12 slices hard-boiled egg

¾ cup drained Yucatán beans, mashed to a paste

vegetable oil for frying

1½ cups chicken in escabeche oriental, pulled. See recipe here.

1½ cups pickled onions for panuchos

Preparation:

Divide the masa in 12 pieces and make a 3.5 cm diameter ball from each one, keeping the other pieces covered with a damp towel as you work. Make tortillas about 10 cm in diameter.

While cooking the tortillas on a griddle try to make the top part inflate. Many times this happens naturally, but it will not happen if you let the masa get too dry before turning the tortilla the first time; the temperature of the griddle is also a factor.

Insert a slice of egg in the opening and hold it open so you can spread some bean paste inside. Press on the tortilla surface to flatten the egg and bean paste. Set aside, covered with a damp cloth.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the panuchos on both sides until the edge is crunchy but not hard. Drain well and top with the meat and onion rings.

Serve immediately.

Serves 12

45 Minutes

Medium