Tlayuda

Rick Bayless’s Tlayuda Oaxaqueña crisps a large, fully dried tlayuda tortilla and tops it with bean spread, cooked Mexican chorizo, cabbage, tomato, Oaxacan quesillo and cilantro. This selected oven method uses freshly rendered pork lard brushed onto both sides of the tortilla.

Five ounces of supplied casing-removed chorizo cook in a small seven- or eight-inch skillet over medium heat. Regular stirring breaks up the clumps as the sausage cooks for seven to eight minutes. If it has released no fat after a minute or two, a little oil is added.

The tortilla is brushed evenly with the same two tablespoons of lard, including its reverse side. It goes onto a baking sheet in the oven and cooks for ten to fifteen minutes, becoming lightly browned and crisp rather than leathery-hard.

A quarter-cup of ready bean spread covers the crisp tortilla, and the cooked chorizo is scattered over it. Another one to two minutes in the oven finishes this layer. The supplied thinly sliced cabbage and tomato, quesillo already pulled into fine strands, and cilantro leaves then go on top.

The tlayuda is served right away, broken into pieces and topped with spooned salsa. Bayless identifies quesillo as the Oaxacan string cheese used here; his selected recipe keeps it with the cold toppings rather than substituting a melting cheese.