Gorditas de Chicharron en Chile Verde

Janet Garcia

They say that whenever you make salsa while being angry, la salsa sale brava.
You start off with making la masa para las tortillas and once it is ready you grab small
amounts of it and shape them into a circle. The size depends on you. Then, you put
them in the comal to heat up the tortilla. After that, you make el chile, add the pork, and
stuff them inside the tortilla.
Everytime we go to Mexico for vacation, my grandma always makes us our
favorite dish; gorditas de chicharron en chile verde. All of the family gets together for the
preparation of this dish. My cousins and sisters go out on the patio to play, like the way I
used to play at their age, while the grownups stay inside, talking about el chisme. I
really hated when they talked about unimportant things. I mean, what other people go
through does not really matter to me. But that was just me. The laughs would fill up the
air, especially my aunt's, as they all joked around. I cautiously watched the way my
grandma made the tortillas.
As I observed everything that was going on in my surroundings, she would grab
a small amount of la masa and make it into a little ball. She squashed la masa in her
hands, back and forth, making a clapping sound. She continued this process until there
was a whole bucket filled with tortillas for las gordas. In the meantime, my aunt was
making the chile verde to add to los chicharrones. All these scents filled up the whole
kitchen and living room, they made my taste buds water and my stomach growl
ferociously. I hoped the time went by fast to be able to eat those delicious gorditas.
While they were in the process of cooking, my grandma sent me and my aunt to
the store to buy the missing ingredients. I always enjoyed walking to the store and
taking in the air. Zacatecas was different from Denver, but I liked it. The streets were
calm, everyone said good morning, good afternoon, or a simple hey. It was a common
thing to do.
Once we got back home, the gorditas were finally done. I could not wait to fill
them up in my stomach. We set the strawberry flavored fanta, the lettuce, and the
cheese on the table for anyone who wanted to add it to the gorditas. The kids were
called inside, my grandpa and uncle were back from work, and we all took our seats.
The sight of the gorditas on my plate and the aroma that came out felt as if I was in food
heaven. My mouth would not stop watering until I took a bite of it and another and
another until it was gone. I saw everyone munching on the gordita, and I realized how
amazing my family was. The food represented how everyone got along, the happiness
in the air, and it was just extraordinary how my family was. I hated how we could not
always be together.













Ingredients
* 2 lb. of corn masa flour
* 1 clove garlic
* 1/2 Onion
* Salt and Pepper to Taste
* 1 lb. of Chicharrn Prensado
* 2 Green Tomatoes (tomatillos or tomates verdes)
* 2 chiles de arbol
* Vegetable Oil
* a bunch of fresh cilantro
* 1/2 lb. Queso Blanco, broken up in small pieces
* Salsa verde for serving