The CONCACAF Cookbook:Baleadas (Honduras)

In the lead up to this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup we here at Prost Amerika will be presenting our team previews with something new: food! You can check out all of recipes in the Gold Cup section. And of course please let us know how your meals turn out by using the Comments section below!

Ah, the Baleada. A small tortilla that is generally filled with beans, cheese, and sour cream the baleada is a staple of street vendors all across Honduras and is a favorite among football supporters in the lead up to games on matchday. It is a simple dish whose history is a little bit unknown. Although it originated in La Ceiba, the largest city in terms of population in Honduras, how it came into being is a bit of a mystery. GreatHonduranFood.com provides three interesting urban legends as to how they earned the name baleada although perhaps the most interesting one is where a person bit into the tortilla and claimed that the beans came flying out like bullets.

Let’s all hope that our Baleadas don’t fly off the stove like bullets and let’s get to the directions!

Ingredients

(Credit: Honduras.com)

To make the flour tortillas (if you are brave enough:)

4 cups of flour

4 tablespoons of oil

1 teaspoon of salt

2 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder

1/2 cup of warm water, milk, or coconut milk

Toppings

1 can refried beans

1 avocado sliced

1 /2 cup sour cream

1 package feta cheese

Optional-shredded chicken or beef

Directions

1.) Preheat your stove to a low to medium setting. When you are working with tortillas you do not need to get a stove too hot as your tortillas will cook rather quick. In terms equipment either a griddle or a large pan should suffice. You also do not need to use butter, oil, or cooking spray on your griddle. When tortillas will not stick on the bottom of the pan so save your cooking supplies for another time.

2.) As your oven is heating up combine your flour, oil, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Once these ingredients are mixed, slowly add in the warm water.

3.) After the water has been added stick your hands inside the bowl and start to knead the dough until have forms a round ball. Much like when you make pizza dough with tortilla dough you do not have to knew it too hard. And yes your hands will get dough on them. Feel free to coat them in flour to keep the dough from getting too sticky.

4.) Once the dough is soft, start breaking apart pieces of the dough to make smaller balls. The balls should be roughly the size of a golf ball. Lay them out on a cookie sheet. At this point you may want to give your dough five to ten minutes to rest. You can use this time to open your can of refried beans and start them on a separate burner. Now would also be a good time if you are cooking meat to start browning it.

5.) Place the dough onto the griddle. You will need to use a rolling pin to flatten the balls out. Again, if your dough is a little sticky use some flour or corn meal on your rolling pin to keep it from sticking.

6.) Flip the tortilla as it starts to brown. As we mentioned before tortillas will cook fast so you will need to keep an eye on them. Two to four minutes is the general cooking time for each depending upon how high you have your stove. Once it is done place it on a warm to keep it from getting cold (A small lesson I learned from my mom many years ago when making Quesadillas).

7.) Once you have made all of your tortillas and your meats and/or beans or cooked you are ready to serve! At this time you can also cut into your avocado and slice it up. Since avocados brown easily it is better to wait towards the end to open them up (Double bonus: Cut a lemon open and squeeze a little juice onto the avocado).

8.) Place your toppings inside of your tortilla and fold it and you are all set.

Drink to go with your Baleadas? Salva Vida

Honduras is a very hot country. In all likelihood all of Honduras’ matches at this year’s Gold Cup will be in warm-weather cities (Red Bull Arena might get a little cooler in the evening. Dallas and Houston-not so much). So it would make sense that you would want a cool, light beer when watching a Honduras match and eating Baleada. If this is the case then Salva Vida is the right choice. Created in the 1920’s Salva Vida is a staple in Honduras and at 4.2%ABV will be perfect at a long tailgate or at a party at home.

 

Will Honduras fans be eating baleadas at the 2017 Gold Cup Final?

It has been a rough few months for Los Catrachos. After winning the 2017 Copa Centroamericana Honduras have slid quite a bit. They have won just twice in their last ten matches (2-4-4) and find themselves on the outside looking in at the 2018 World Cup (1-2-3, 5 point, fifth place). This Gold Cup might just prove to be what Honduras need to get themselves back in the hunt for Russia 2018 especially with home matches against the United States and Mexico looming.

If they are to get out of Group A with French Guiana, Costa Rica, and Canada they are going to need a better effort from their defense. Maynor Figueroa is still showing at FC Dallas that he can make a go of it at the age of 35. However, the rest of their line is untested. Their second-most capped player along the back four is Henry Figueroa. On the attack they should be able to go up against anyone in CONCACAF with their three Houston Dynamo players (Alberth Ellis, Oscar Bonniek Garcia, and Romell Quioto). But Honduras have struggled in the past when they go down a goal to retain their composure and plug away.

Prediction: Make a few extra baleadas for their July 14 clash against Canada and put them in the freezer. Honduras will earn one of the top two spots after once again defeating Canada, getting three points against French Guiana, and falling just short against Costa Rica.