These were a big hit with everyone. A little labour-intensive, but not too bad. I found the shells a little tricky to fill completely without breaking. The good news is that they're just as delicious with the filling piled on top as stuffed inside.

Gorditas

From Cook's Country August/September 2019

Ingredients

Filling

• 450g lean ground beef
• 1 russet (or other floury) potato, cut into 0.5cm pieces
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin, ground
• 2 tsp. flour
• 3/4 c. water

Dough

• 5 c. masa harina
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 1/2 c. water (room temperature)
• 3/4 c. grated Colby Jack or Cheddar cheese
• corn oil, for frying

Toppings (optional)

• shredded lettuce
• diced tomatoes
• hot sauce
• guacamole
• extra cheese
• ketchup
• salsa
• sour cream

Directions

Filling

1. Combine beef, potato, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-high heat for ~8 minutes.
2. Add onion and tomato and cook another 5 minutes or so.
3. Add garlic and cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute more.
5. Stir in water and bring to a boil.
6. Cook for another minute.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Remove from heat and set aside.

Dough

1. Combine masa harina with salt.
2. Add room temperature water and cheese and knead until fully combined. (Dough should be about the same consistency as Play-Doh.)
3. Roll a 1/2 c. portion of dough into a ball.
4. Place ball between two pieces of plastic wrap (or inside a Ziploc bag that's been cut open at the sides).
5. Use a pie plate or similar flat-bottomed dish to press the ball into a 10cm round.
6. At this point you can either hand the disc of dough off to someone else to fry while you shape the next disc (assembly line style) or you can transfer the disc to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and covered with a damp dish towel to await frying.

Assembly

1. Pour oil to a depth of ~2cm in a pan or dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat (to ~190°C/375°F).
2. Fry dough rounds until golden brown on both sides (~5 minutes per side).
3. Transfer fried discs to a wire rack to drain. Let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, reheat filling.
5. Using a paring knife, split each round ~halfway horizontally, forming a pocket.
6. Stuff each round with ~1/3 c. of filling and top as desired.