Pellizcadas Oaxaqueñas con Asiento y Frijol Negro

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy griddle
• •Tortilla press or two flat surfaces for pressing masa
• •High-powered blender for the salsa verde
• •Bean masher or heavy wooden spoon
• •Medium saucepan for the beans and another for the tomatillos

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the black beans

   If your beans are not already cooked, rinse one cup of dried black beans and place them in a medium pot with six cups of water, one clove of garlic, and both hojas de aguacate. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for two to two and a half hours until the beans are soft and creamy and the broth has turned dark and fragrant. Add salt only in the last twenty minutes. Salting early toughens the skins. If using already-cooked beans, warm them gently with the hoja de aguacate in their broth for fifteen minutes so the leaf perfumes them.

   Toast the hoja de aguacate briefly on a dry comal for five seconds per side before adding it to the pot. The heat releases the anise-like oils. You will smell it immediately. That smell is Oaxacan black beans.
2. 2

   Prepare the refried beans

   Heat the tablespoon of lard in a skillet over medium heat. Add the cooked black beans with about half a cup of their broth. Mash them with a bean masher or the back of a wooden spoon until you have a thick, spreadable paste. Some chunks are fine. You are not making baby food. The consistency should hold on the back of a spoon without running. If it's too thick, add a splash more broth. Taste for salt. The beans should be well-seasoned because they carry the pellizcada.

   Fry the beans in lard, not oil. The lard gives them a richness that vegetable oil cannot. This is frijoles refritos the way they make them in Oaxaca, not the gray paste from a can.
3. 3

   Make the salsa verde

   Place the tomatillos and chiles serrano in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook for eight to ten minutes, until the tomatillos turn olive green and soften. Drain, saving a splash of the cooking water. Transfer the tomatillos, chiles, cilantro, chopped onion, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth but with some texture. Taste it. The salsa should be bright, tart, and with a clean heat from the serrano that hits the back of your throat. If it tastes flat, add more salt. Salsa verde that tastes shy is salsa verde that isn't finished.

4. 4

   Prepare the masa

   If using fresh masa, knead it with the salt until smooth and pliable, about two minutes. It should feel like soft clay and not crack at the edges when you press it. If using masa harina, mix it with the warm water and salt, let it rest five minutes, then knead until smooth. Divide the dough into twelve equal balls, each about the size of a golf ball. Cover them with a damp cloth so they don't dry out.

   Fresh masa from a tortilleria is always better than masa harina. Always. If you have a Mexican market nearby that grinds their own, buy it there. Masa harina is the compromise, not the standard.
5. 5

   Shape and cook the rounds

   Heat a dry comal or cast iron griddle over medium heat. Take one ball of masa and press it between your palms or in a tortilla press lined with plastic into a round about four inches across and a quarter-inch thick. Thicker than a tortilla. This is important. Too thin and you cannot pinch the rim. Place the round on the hot comal and cook for about two minutes on the first side, until the bottom sets and develops light brown spots. Flip and cook another minute and a half on the second side. The masa should be cooked through but still pliable enough to pinch.

6. 6

   Pinch the rim

   This is the step that names the dish. While the round is still hot from the comal, pick it up and pinch the edge between your thumb and forefinger, working your way around the entire circumference to create a raised rim about half an inch tall. Work quickly. The masa needs to be warm enough to shape without cracking. If it cools too much, put it back on the comal for thirty seconds to warm it up. The rim creates a shallow well that holds everything. Without it, you have a thick tortilla. With it, you have a pellizcada.

   Your fingers will feel the heat. That is normal. The senoras at the Oaxacan markets have been doing this daily for decades and their fingers show it. Work fast. Pinch, rotate, pinch, rotate. You will get faster with practice.
7. 7

   Spread the asiento

   Place the pinched pellizcada back on the comal over medium-low heat. Spread a generous teaspoon of asiento across the inside of the well with the back of a small spoon. The asiento will melt into the warm masa, darkening the surface and releasing a deep, smoky pork fragrance. This is what makes the pellizcada Oaxacan. Asiento is not lard. It is the dark, granular sediment from the bottom of the chicharron pot, where the bits of pork have caramelized in rendered fat. La manteca es el sabor, and asiento is the deepest expression of it.

8. 8

   Layer and serve

   Spread a generous spoonful of the refried black beans over the asiento. Spoon salsa verde on top of the beans. Finish with crumbled queso fresco, a few rings of thinly sliced raw white onion, and a scatter of cilantro leaves. Serve immediately, while the masa is still warm and the asiento has soaked into it. Repeat with the remaining masa balls, cooking and assembling in batches so each pellizcada goes from comal to table without sitting. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Asiento is sold at markets throughout Oaxaca, scooped from the bottom of the chicharron rendering pot. Outside Oaxaca, your best chance is a Mexican carniceria that makes its own chicharron. Ask for the dark sediment at the bottom of the lard. If they know what you are asking for, they have it. If they look confused, they don't make chicharron in-house. You can approximate it by cooking finely diced pork fatback in lard over low heat until the pieces are deeply browned and caramelized, then mashing them into the fat. It is not asiento, but it is closer than anything else.
• •Hoja de aguacate, the dried leaf of the Mexican avocado, has an anise-like fragrance that defines Oaxacan black beans. You can find it in well-stocked Mexican grocery stores or online. Do not substitute bay leaf. Bay leaf tastes nothing like it. If you cannot find hoja de aguacate, leave it out and accept the compromise. Your beans will still be good.
• •Make the beans and salsa verde before you start shaping the masa. The pellizcadas move fast once the comal is hot, and you do not want to be blending tomatillos while your masa dries out under a towel.

Advance Preparation

• •The black beans can be cooked up to three days ahead and refrigerated in their broth. Reheat and refry on the day you make the pellizcadas.
• •The salsa verde can be made up to two days ahead and refrigerated. It may thicken slightly. Thin with a splash of water if needed.
• •The masa cannot wait. Shape and cook the pellizcadas right before serving. Cold masa cracks when you pinch it and the texture goes stiff. This is a dish that moves from comal to table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 295g)