Tetela! An amazing Mixtec stuffed taco!

Living in Oaxaca has it's perks. We recently took a cooking class from a local Mixtec woman. The Mixteca are one of many indigenous groups who call our state home. In addition to teaching my wife and I our first Mixtec word ("nuni", which is corn), she taught us a few recipes. This is by far my favorite. It's tetala--basically a stuffed bean pocket with cheese and salsa on top. They're great finger food when you want something a little different!

Note that you'll need a cheap tortilla press for this recipe. If you don't already have one, you can grab one at a Mexican market or online for a few bucks.

Prep time: 2 cocktails
1 batch tortilla dough - NOTE: just make the dough in this recipe, don't form or cook into tortillas
1 batch sexy Oaxacan black beans
1 batch Oaxacan salsa (or another favorite salsa)
Crumbled queso fresco or crumbled queso blanco (optional)

You start by lining your tortilla press with plastic wrap on the bottom. Then roll a ball of tortilla dough about the size of a golf ball. Place it in the center of the tortilla press and put another sheet of plastic on top. Press until you get a 6-8 inch ball that's twice the thickness of a normal tortilla (you might have to adjust the amount of dough up or down a bit from golf ball size).

Remove the top plastic sheet and put a heaping 1 TBSP dollup of beans in the center and spread it out a little bit. Now, fold the tortilla in thirds so it's totally enclosing the beans. Photos are below demonstrating this.

Now, heat a dry frying pan over medium-low to medium heat. Transfer your tetela to the pan and cook until the bottom is a tad browned, just as if you were cooking tortillas. Flip and repeat. Top with cheese and salsa and eat with your hands or with a fork! Amazing!

Note: I searched the internet high and low for photos of this process since I've so far failed to take photos every time I've made this recipe. I found these pics on a blog called Mexico In My Kitchen. After subsequently spending way too much time on this blog, I can honestly say that I'm in love with the creator's recipes. She has some truly great stuff. If you're into Mexican cooking, it's a great resource for fresh ideas! A new favorite!!