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Molotes

Puebla's spindle-shaped masa turnovers stuffed with potato and pork chorizo, fried until crisp

Around Puebla's zócalo and in the evening stalls outside its churches, molotes are fried to order: masa turnovers rolled into long spindles with pointed ends, crisp and blistered outside and soft inside. The favourite filling is potato mashed with pork chorizo, though stalls also sell them with tinga, quesillo or huitlacoche. They are eaten hot from a paper plate, split open and spooned with salsa, cream and crumbled cheese, as an evening snack or a light supper. Chef's tip: press the dough between two sheets of plastic cut from a freezer bag, so the thin disc lifts off cleanly and doesn't tear when you fold it.
Total time
75 min
Difficulty
medium
Serves
4
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Ingredients

Serves4

For the filling

For the dough

To fry and serve

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Fresh ingredients (5)

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Method

0/8 done
  1. Step 1: Boil 14 oz floury potatoes in salted water until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain and mash roughly.

    15 min
  2. Step 2: Fry 7 oz fresh Mexican pork chorizo in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, breaking it up, until the fat has run out and there is no pink left, at least 160°F. Add ½ white onion and cook until soft.

    10 min
  3. Step 3: Mix the chorizo into the potato with ½ tsp salt. Leave to cool while you make the dough.

  4. Step 4: Mix 10 ½ oz masa harina, 2 tbsp plain flour and 1 tsp salt, then work in 1 ½ cups warm water until the dough is soft and smooth like play dough. Cover with a damp cloth. If the edges of a pressed ball crack, knead in a little more water: dry dough splits during frying, which is the most common reason molotes burst and spit.

    5 min
  5. Step 5: Roll 12 balls of dough. Press one between two sheets of plastic into a thin oval of about 14 x 10 cm.

  6. Step 6: Peel off the top sheet, spread a heaped tablespoon of filling along the middle, then use the bottom sheet to fold the dough over. Press the edges shut and roll the ends between your palms into pointed tips, like a spindle. Keep them covered.

    20 min
  7. Step 7: Heat 4 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Fry the molotes 3 or 4 at a time, turning, until deep golden and crisp all over. The most common mistake is oil that isn't hot enough: the masa then soaks up oil and turns greasy instead of crisp, so fry only a few at a time to keep the temperature up.

    15 min
  8. Step 8: Drain on kitchen paper. Serve hot, split along the top, with ¾ cup red or green salsa, ½ cup Mexican crema or soured cream, 2 ⅞ oz queso fresco or feta and 1 handful shredded lettuce.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
520 kcal
Protein
17 g
Carbs
58 g
Fat
25 g
Fibre
6 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does molotes take?
About 75 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
What can I use instead of floury potatoes?
Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
What can I use instead of white onion?
2 shallots per onion.

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