Molotes de Tinga

The other day I was scrolling through the never ending hole that is Pinterest and I came across a recipe for Molotes. I'd never seen this dish before but they are very much like empanadas. I went over to brother's house and all us girls got together and put them together very quickly, and my god, they were delicious!

Honestly, you can use whatever filling you like, ground beef, or any shredded meat of your choice will do.

We opted for shredded chicken, sautéed with onions, tomatoes, and seasoning. You could add chipotle and make it a little smokey and spicy.

The recipe has 3 different parts, the tomato sauce to bathe the molotes, the dough, and the filling.

What you'll need:

For the dough:

*2 cups of Maseca (corn flour)

*1/4 of crisco, lard, or oil

*1 teaspoon of salt

*1-2 cups of water, as needed

*Tortilla maker, or you can hand shape

*Enough oil for frying

For the filling:

*1 rotisserie chicken

*1 small onion

*2 roma tomatoes

(optional)* Chipotle pepper from a can, if you want the smoky spiciness

For the sauce:

*6 roma totatoes

*1-2 teaspoons of oregano

*1 small onion

*1-2 cloves of garlic

*1 teaspoon of salt or bouillon

For toppings:

*1/2 a shredded lettuce

*1 Cotija cheese, crumbled

Directions:

-Shred the chicken, chop the onion and the tomatoes. Sauté everything in a medium pan add salt to your liking.(if adding chipotle add after your onions are translucent)Set aside.

-In a mixing bowl, add the Maseca, salt, oil, and gradually add water as needed until your reach a play dough like consistency.

-Roast the tomatoes on a skillet or oven, which ever you prefer. Once roasted, cut the onion in quarters, toss in the garlic, add the oregano, bouillon, and enough water to blend. Might have to do in batches.

-Roll 2 inch balls and make a tortilla on the machine, fill with about 2 tablespoons of the filling, fold closed and seal. Heat your oil and fry.

-Pour some tomato sauce on bottom of bowl or plate, place 1 or 2 molotes, some lettuce, more sauce, and cheese.

Enjoy!