Entomatadas Tradicionales de Queso Fresco
(en-toh-mah-TAH-dahs)
Guisados de Martes (Quick Weeknight Skillets & 'A La Mexicana' Magic)
If you ask a Mexican kid what dish tastes most like a hug from their grandmother, they won't say tacos, and they certainly won't say a complicated mole. They will say entomatadas. Born from pure domestic pragmatism to stretch yesterday's tortillas and today's cheese, it is the gentle, comforting cousin of the enchilada. There are no baking dishes here, no heavy crusts of melted yellow cheese. Just corn tortillas passed quickly through hot oil, dragged through a velvety, simmering red tomato sauce, and folded around sharp, salty queso fresco and raw onion. It requires thirty minutes and ordinary supermarket staples, but it tastes exactly like home.
Before you start
Toss the crumbled queso fresco with the finely diced raw onion.
Mixing the sharp, crisp raw onion directly into the cool cheese is crucial; it cuts right through the richness of the warm tomato sauce. Set this aside until you are ready to assemble.
Ingredients
- Roma tomatoes1 1/2 lb
- white onion1/2 med
- garlic cloves2 med
- jalapeño pepper1 small
- vegetable oil1 tbsp
- chicken bouillon powder1 tbsp
- corn tortillas12 med
- vegetable oil1/3 cup
- queso fresco12 oz
- white onion1/4 med
- Mexican crema1/4 cup
- fresh cilantro1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Boil the tomatoes, half onion, garlic, and jalapeño until the tomato skins split.
Submerge them in a medium saucepan covered with water over medium-high heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. Boiling, rather than roasting, removes the harsh acidity of the tomatoes and creates the velvety, nostalgic texture essential to this dish.
- 02
Transfer the boiled vegetables to a blender and purée until completely smooth.
Use a slotted spoon to move them over, discarding the boiling water. If your blender struggles, add just a splash of fresh water to get things moving.
- 03
Fry the blended tomato sauce in hot oil and simmer with the bouillon powder.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide, deep skillet over medium heat. Pour in the purée—don't panic if it splatters and sizzles aggressively, this reaction cooks out the raw garlic flavor. Stir in the bouillon, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let it gently simmer for 10 minutes until the color darkens to a rich red. Keep it warm on your lowest setting.
- 04
Quickly pass each corn tortilla through hot oil to make them pliable and create a protective barrier.
Heat 1/3 cup of oil in a separate frying pan over medium-high. Fry each tortilla for just 5 to 10 seconds per side so they turn golden but not crispy, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. If you skip this, they will dissolve into mush the second they hit the sauce.
- 05
Dip a fried tortilla into the warm sauce, fill with the cheese mixture, and fold it in half directly on the serving plate.
Work quickly. Submerge the tortilla completely, lift it out, place it on a plate, spoon about 2 tablespoons of the cheese-and-onion mix down the center, and fold it like a taco. Repeat to put three or four entomatadas on each plate.
- 06
Ladle extra tomato sauce over the plated entomatadas and garnish immediately.
Drench them heavily with the remaining sauce. Hit them with a zigzag of Mexican crema, any leftover cheese, and the fresh cilantro. Serve immediately while they are hot.
Notes
Boil, do not roast.
Boiling the tomatoes removes their harsh acidity and gives the sauce a velvety, nostalgic texture.
Sizzle the sauce.
Frying the blended salsa in a little hot oil cooks out the raw garlic flavor and deepens the umami.
The umami shortcut.
A spoonful of powdered chicken bouillon is the ultimate Mexican home-cook secret for a savory, rich sauce.
From Cook Mexican in America.