Tortitas de papa (Mexican potato and cheese patties in tomato sauce)
Golden, cheesy mashed potato patties simmered in a light, garlicky tomato caldillo, a comforting Mexican home-cooking classic with warm tortillas.
- 60 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.48 a serving
- 650 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 russet potatoes, about 2 lb, peeled and cubed
- 1 cup queso fresco, crumbled
- 2 large eggs
- ½ white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 8 corn tortillas
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2¼ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, divided
- ½ tsp dried oregano
Each serving has about 650 calories, 21 g protein, 89 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $2.48 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No queso fresco? Cotija cheese or feta cheese works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the potatoes in a pot of water with 1 teaspoon salt until very soft, about 15 minutes. , let them dry for 5 minutes and mash.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Steam. Steaming means cooking food over or in a little simmering water with a lid on to trap the steam. It cooks gently and keeps vegetables bright and tender.
How you’ll know: The color turns vivid, and a fork goes in with just a little resistance.
High heatTimer: 15 min
When the potatoes are just warm, mix in the queso fresco, eggs, flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Shape into 8 patties about ½ inch thick and chill 10 minutes.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Chilling firms them up so they don’t break when you flip them.Food safety: If you’re pregnant, buy queso fresco labeled “made with pasteurized milk,” and for extra care, warm it until it’s steaming hot.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide pot or deep over medium heat. Cook the onion and jalapeño until soft, 4 minutes, then the garlic for 1 minute.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the tomatoes, broth, oregano and ¼ teaspoon salt and 10 minutes. It should be looser than pasta sauce.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a nonstick over medium heat. Fry the patties until , 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Slide the patties into the tomato sauce and gently for 3 to 4 minutes, spooning the sauce over them.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 4 min
Warm the tortillas one at a time in a dry over medium-high heat, about 30 seconds per side.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heat
Serve two tortitas each in shallow bowls with plenty of sauce, cilantro and warm tortillas.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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