Memelas – Oaxacan masa cakes with lard, black beans and cheese

Ingredients for 4 portions

• 400 gMasa harina
• ≈ 500 mlWater, warm
• to tasteSalt
• 3Tomatoes
• 4Chiles de árbol
• 1 cloveGarlic
• ½Yellow onion
• 400 gRefried beans
• 4 tbspLard
• 200 gOaxaca cheese, pulled into strings

Method

1. Mix the masa harina with the warm water and a pinch of salt. Knead for 3 minutes into a soft dough that neither sticks to your hands nor cracks at the edges, and cover with a damp tea towel.
2. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, roast the tomatoes, chillies, garlic and onion in a hot, dry frying pan. The chillies need only a few seconds, until they change colour; the tomatoes until the skins are blackened in spots and they are soft.
4. Crush the tomatoes, chillies, garlic and onion with some salt in a mortar, or blend briefly, into a chunky salsa.
5. Warm the refried beans with a splash of water until spreadable.
6. Divide the dough into 12 balls and pat them out by hand into ovals about 12 × 8 cm and half a centimetre thick.
7. Cook the cakes in batches in a hot, dry frying pan for about 3 minutes per side, until speckled brown. While still hot, pinch the top all over with your fingers to make little ridges (careful, they are hot).
8. Spread each cake with lard and then beans, top with salsa and cheese and return them to the pan for a minute, until the cheese softens. Serve three per person.

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