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Guadalajara's market botana of tender garbanzos, vinegar-cured cueritos, cucumber, white onion, oregano, lime, and chile de arbol piled high on a crisp corn tostada.
This is Jalisco, specifically Guadalajara, the kind of botana you find around Mercado Libertad, where the tostadas are stacked high and the vendor knows exactly how much chile de arbol you can handle by looking at your face.
The garbanzo is the body. The cuerito is the bite. It must be pork skin cured in vinegar, cut into strips, not fried chicharron and not some sad gelatinous shortcut from a jar that tastes only of salt. Rinse it lightly if the brine is too sharp, but do not wash away its character. That vinegar is part of the dish.
The technique is not complicated, but it is exact. Cook the chickpeas until tender, not collapsing. Dress them while they are still a little warm so they drink the vinegar, lime, oregano, and chile de arbol. Then chill the salad long enough for the cucumber, onion, and cueritos to become one thing. This is market food, yes, but market food has rules. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
My mother did not make this as a meal. She made it when people were coming over and money was tight. A big bowl, a packet of tostadas, lime halves on the table. Nobody left hungry. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Chickpeas arrived in Mexico with the Spanish in the 16th century and took especially well to central and western kitchens, where they became practical market food because they were cheap, filling, and easy to stretch. Cueritos, pork skin preserved in vinegar, developed from the colonial pig economy, when Mexican cooks learned to use every part of the animal instead of wasting what could feed a family. In Guadalajara, the pairing became a common botana for markets, cantinas, and home gatherings, usually served cold over tostadas rather than treated as a formal salad.
Quantity
1 pound
rinsed and soaked overnight
Quantity
1/2 medium
for cooking the chickpeas
Quantity
2
peeled
Quantity
1
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons, plus more to taste
Quantity
12 ounces
drained and cut into thin strips
Quantity
1
peeled, seeded, and diced
Quantity
1 small
finely diced
Quantity
2
seeded and diced
Quantity
1/2 cup
chopped
Quantity
1/3 cup
Quantity
1/4 cup
Quantity
2 tablespoons
lightly crushed
Quantity
4
toasted and finely crushed
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried chickpeasrinsed and soaked overnight | 1 pound |
| white onionfor cooking the chickpeas | 1/2 medium |
| garlic clovespeeled | 2 |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| kosher salt | 1 1/2 teaspoons, plus more to taste |
| cueritos en vinagredrained and cut into thin strips | 12 ounces |
| large cucumberpeeled, seeded, and diced | 1 |
| white onionfinely diced | 1 small |
| Roma tomatoesseeded and diced | 2 |
| fresh cilantrochopped | 1/2 cup |
| cueritos pickling vinegar or white vinegar | 1/3 cup |
| fresh lime juice | 1/4 cup |
| Mexican oreganolightly crushed | 2 tablespoons |
| dried chile de arboltoasted and finely crushed | 4 |
| extra-virgin olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| crisp corn tostadas (optional) | for serving |
| lime halves (optional) | for serving |
| salsa de chile de arbol (optional) | for serving |
Rinse the chickpeas well, then cover them with at least three inches of cold water. Soak overnight. Do not pretend dried garbanzos cook the same without soaking. They cook unevenly and the skins stay tough. No me vengas con atajos.
Drain the soaked chickpeas and put them in a large pot with the half onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and fresh water to cover by two inches. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook uncovered for 60 to 90 minutes, until the chickpeas are tender but still hold their shape. Add the salt during the last 20 minutes. If you salt too early with old chickpeas, they can stay stubborn.
Drain the chickpeas and discard the onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Spread the garbanzos on a tray for 10 minutes so they stop cooking but stay slightly warm. Warm chickpeas absorb the dressing better than cold ones. This is why market salads taste seasoned all the way through.
Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile de arbol for a few seconds per side, just until glossy and fragrant. Do not let it blacken. Chile de arbol is thin and turns bitter fast. Crush it in a molcajete or with the bottom of a cup. You want flakes, not dust.
In a large bowl, stir together the cueritos pickling vinegar, lime juice, crushed Mexican oregano, toasted chile de arbol, olive oil, black pepper, and a good pinch of salt. Crush the oregano between your palms before it goes in. That wakes it up. Whole dry leaves floating around do nothing for you.
Add the warm chickpeas to the dressing and fold gently so they are coated without breaking. Let them sit for 15 minutes. Taste one. It should be bright with vinegar and lime, with the chile coming after, not punching first. Not all Mexican food is about burning your mouth. This dish is about acid, chew, and balance.
Add the cueritos, cucumber, diced white onion, Roma tomatoes, and cilantro. Fold with a wide spoon. The cucumber should stay crisp, the cueritos should stay springy, and the chickpeas should not turn into paste. Taste for salt and lime. Adjust now, before the salad chills.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight. Serve cold or cool, piled onto crisp corn tostadas with lime halves and salsa de chile de arbol on the side. Do not build the tostadas early or they will soften. The crunch belongs at the table. Asi se hace y punto.
1 serving (about 345g)
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