Recipe Manuscript

Torta De Huautzontle

Name: Torta De Huautzontle
Prep time: PTPT30M
Cook time: PTPT25M
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 300 g huauzontle (or fresh young amaranth leaves/shoots as substitute); 2 g tequesquite (or 1-2 g baking soda + extra salt as substitute); 150 g queso fresco (or ricotta/fresh farmer's cheese); 2 eggs; 40 g plain flour; 150 ml lard (or vegetable oil); 2 dried ancho chiles; 2 dried mulato chiles; 1/2 tsp cumin seeds; 2 garlic cloves; Salt, to taste; 250 ml water, for the sauce

"Huautzontle Patty"

1890

From the treasured pages of La Cocina en el Bolsillo No. 12

Written by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo

Age of Gastronomy (1800 - 1900)American Intermediate Lunch Dinner

Original Recipe • 1890

Original Manuscript(circa Age of Gastronomy, 1800 - 1900)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

Torta De Huautzontle

"Se quitan las hojas á las ramas de huautzontle y se ponen á cocer con un pequeño grano de tequesquite; ya que están cocidos se sacan del agua en que hirvieron, se enjuagan en otra agua tibia y se enjugan perfectamente á que no les quede nada de agua; se rellenan de queso fresco, bastante para darles gusto, se les espolvorea sal molida, revolcándolos en la harina; se bate clara de huevo y ya que se ha batido bien se le revuelve la yema y se van envolviendo con mucho cuidado en el huevo las tortas del huautzontle para echarlas en una sarten con bastante manteca; se prepara un caldillo de chiles ancho y mulato, bien molidos con cominos, ajo y sal para darle el gusto; se echan las tortas en el caldillo y se les deja dar un hervor para servirse."

English Translation

"HUAUTZONTLE PATTY. Remove the leaves from the huautzontle branches and cook them with a small piece of tequesquite. Once cooked, take them out of the water in which they boiled, rinse them in other warm water, and dry them thoroughly so there's no water left. Fill them with fresh cheese, enough to give them good flavor, sprinkle with ground salt, and roll them in flour. Beat egg whites, and once well beaten, mix in the yolk. Carefully coat the huautzontle patties in the egg and fry them in a skillet with plenty of lard. Prepare a sauce with ancho and mulato chiles, well ground with cumin, garlic, and salt for taste. Add the patties to the sauce and let them simmer briefly before serving."

Note on the Original Text

The recipe is written in a brisk, continuous fashion, typical of late 19th century Mexican cookbooks intended for literate home cooks. Ingredients are rarely quantified; instead, the expectation was that the reader possessed basic kitchen intuition. Spelling reflects 19th-century Mexican Spanish orthography ('á' for 'a', for instance) and some terms like tequesquite or huauzontle have indigenous origins. This style prioritizes process over measurement, offering practical knowledge and encouraging experiential learning rather than rigid adherence to quantities. Modern readers should be aware that terms such as 'revolcándolos' (dredging) are colloquial and may not appear in formal Spanish of the present day.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

La Cocina en el Bolsillo No. 12 - Click to view recipe in book

Title

La Cocina en el Bolsillo No. 12 (1890)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Antonio Vanegas Arroyo

Era

1890

Publisher

Unknown

Background

A delightful pocket-sized treasure from the numbered series 'Cocina en el Bolsillo', this volume serves up a tempting array of recipes, inviting culinary enthusiasts on a tasteful journey through a variety of traditional foods.

Kindly made available by

University of Texas at San Antonio

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This recipe hails from the fascinating Mexican publication 'La Cocina en el Bolsillo No. 12', printed in 1890 by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo. The series was aimed at sharing practical, accessible recipes for everyday cooks. This particular torta is an elegant example of popular urban cuisine at the end of the Porfirian era in Mexico, when indigenous ingredients such as huauzontle were seamlessly incorporated into European-influenced preparations, like battering and frying. The inclusion of tequesquite—an alkaline mineral salt evocative of Mexican culinary tradition—and the use of a chile-based sauce both root this dish in the Mesoamerican past, while the egg battering technique shows European, especially Spanish, influence. The recipe is a delightful microcosm of the evolving Mexican table of the late 19th century.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

In the late 1800s Mexican kitchen, this recipe would be prepared using a charcoal or wood-fired stove. Cooks would use clay or copper cazuelas (wide, shallow pans) for boiling greens and preparing sauces, and heavy cast-iron or enameled frying pans for frying the tortas. Hand-held stone mortars (molcajetes) would be employed to grind the chiles, spices, and garlic into the smooth paste essential for the sauce. Eggs were beaten by hand using kitchen forks or small whisks, while cheese was crumbled with a knife or by hand.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Servings

We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!

Ingredients

10.5 oz huauzontle (or fresh young amaranth leaves/shoots as substitute)
1/2 tsp tequesquite (or 1/4-1/3 tsp baking soda + extra salt as substitute)
5.3 oz queso fresco (or ricotta/fresh farmer's cheese)
2 eggs
1.4 oz plain flour
2/3 cup lard (or vegetable oil)
2 dried ancho chiles
2 dried mulato chiles
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves
Salt, to taste
1 cup water, for the sauce

Instructions

To prepare Torta de Huautzontle in the modern kitchen, first strip the leaves and clusters from roughly 10.5 ounces of fresh huauzontle (if unavailable, young amaranth leaves can be used as a substitute).
Boil them in ample water with about 1/2 teaspoon of tequesquite (a traditional mineral salt; substitute with 1/4 to 1/3 teaspoon of baking soda and extra salt) until tender, about 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse the greens in fresh warm water, then sqeeze out all excess liquid carfully.
Divide the huauzontle into small bundles, stuffing each with cubes of 5.3 ounces of fresh cheese (queso fresco or ricotta).
Sprinkle with a pinch of fine salt, then dredge generously in 1.4 ounces of plain flour.
Beat 2 egg whites until stiff, then fold in the yolks.
Dip each stuffed huauzontle bundle into the egg mixture.
Heat 2/3 cup of lard (or vegetable oil) in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.
Fry the bundles until golden all over.
Meanwhile, blend together 2 dried ancho chiles and 2 mulato chiles (seeded and soaked), with 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 2 cloves garlic, and salt to taste.
Simmer this mixture in 1 cup of water to form a flavorful broth.
Add the fried tortas and let them gently boil for a few minutes, then serve hot.

Estimated Calories

340 per serving

Cooking Estimates

Preparation takes around 30 minutes, including boiling the greens and assembling the bundles. Cooking and frying take another 25 minutes. Each serving is estimated to have about 340 calories, and the recipe yields 4 servings.

As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.

We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.