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Gorditas de migajas

Masa cakes with pork crackling

In Querétaro, gorditas de migajas are a breakfast and market favourite, cooked on wide griddles in the old town and in the street stalls of the Sierra Gorda. They are thick corn cakes filled with migajas, the crunchy crumbs of pork crackling left at the bottom of the carnitas or chicharrón vat, bound with asiento, the brown, savoury pork lard full of toasted bits. This is very much a pork dish; plain pork lard and finely crushed pork crackling make a good substitute if you can't find asiento. Split open while hot, they are filled with red salsa, onion, coriander and crumbled cheese. Chef's tip: cook them over a medium, not high, heat so the inside cooks through before the outside burns.

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