Torta Ahogada Appetizer

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This sandwich originates from the city of Guadalajara and it’s found everywhere in the city, from street stalls to fancy restaurants.

A key component of the torta ahogada is the bread. In my experience the birote salado (bread roll) in Guadalajara is unlike the soft bolillos found in California. It has a thick, crunchy crust and soft interior which is more salty than sweet in flavor. Using crusty bread allows it to be drowned in sauce without crumbling or falling apart. The bread is sliced open on one side and the sandwich is filled with succulent pork. Then It’s either totally or partially submerged in a tomato-chili de arbol sauce.

The first time I had a traditional torta ahogada it was so super chile-hot that it practically knocked me off my feet. Not so much now. They are served in a mild tomato-chili arbol sauce accompanied with a side dish of the real spicy chile arbol salsa so that you can kick it up as spicy as desired. I recommend eating these tortas with enough spicy chile arbol salsa to get a good dose of capsicum.

Originally ahogadas were filled with carnitas, but while in Guadalajara, I have seen them prepared with chicken, tongue, buche (pork stomach lining), carne asada, shrimp and with a smear of beans. Stick with carnitas.

On my latest visit to Guadalajara I was served a mini torta ahogada served in a very small birote. Unable to locate that size locally, I substitute crusty french baguette cut to 2 ½ inches in length. So, let’s get started.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

8-10 oz of carnitas (purchased)

3 large tomatoes

¼ teaspoon cumin powder

¼ teaspoon oregano powder

2 limes for juice

1 teaspoon canola oil

3-5 dry pods of chile de arbol

1 small clove garlic sliced

¼ small onion

Salt and pepper

10 – 12 inch section of a crusty french baguette

Optional garnish

Pickled onion
Radish slices
Avocado slices

Tomato Lime Sauce

Add fresh tomatoes into 6 cups of boiling water and boil them for 2 to 5 minutes until the skins have parted or come loose. Remove the tomatoes and when cool enough to handle, remove the skins. In a blender, liquify the tomatoes, then pour out into a bowl. Stir in cumin and oregano. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

After preparing the chile arbol salsa recipe below, carefully add small amounts of chile arbol salsa to the lime sauce, enough to taste the flavor of chile de arbol but not so much to make this sauce too hot.

Chile Arbol Salsa

Quickly rinse the chile in water and dry them thoroughly with a paper towel. In a small sauté pan heat the olive oil to a moderate high heat, add the chile peppers with stems and roll them around so all peppers are coated in oil. Toast the peppers on both sides. They will turn from a bright red to a deep red color and crisp-up very quickly so turn them with tongs to toast both sides. In the same sauté pan, add the sliced garlic , onion and sauté the ingredients until slightly charred. When cool enough to handle, remove the stems and manually break them up, place the peppers, garlic, onion with 1 cup of tomato lime sauce in a blender and create a flaky chile / garlic watery salsa; Add the lime juice and salt to taste.

Plating

Slice the baguette lengthwise and lightly drizzle each half with tomato lime sauce. Fill the bottom half of the baguette with carnitas and cap with the other half. Cut the long section into 2 ½ inch sections, and place each one in small serving bowl. Top with ¼ cup or more of tomato lime sauce. Serve with a side dish of the hot chile arbol salsa.

Notes

This sandwich recipe came about when by accident a torta slipped into the chile arbol salsa and was completely immersed; the customer accepted it and really loved the outcome. It’s a popular breakfast dish, said to cure hangovers. Because it’s a hardy and filling meal, I enjoyed the experience of a small plate. These are great to make full size and watching a sports event accompanied with beer. If you prefer to cook your own pork, a braised pork shoulder is a good choice.

Buen Provecho

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