Torta de Huevo con Chorizo
Chorizo and egg torta; classic breakfast combination.
Andrew Lekashman
Torta de Huevo a la Mexicana
The a la mexicana scramble names itself after the flag: serrano for green, white onion, red tomato. On a warm telera with refried beans, it is the torta Mexico eats before noon.
Torta de Hongos
Mushroom torta; sautéed mushrooms, often with epazote (Mexican herb), chile, and cheese.
Torta de Frijoles
Bean torta; refried beans as main filling, sometimes with cheese. Simple, satisfying.
Torta de Flor de Calabaza
Squash blossom torta; squash blossoms sautéed with onion and chile, often with cheese.
Torta de Cochinita Pibil
Yucatecan slow-roasted pork torta; pork marinated in achiote paste (annatto seed) and sour orange, wrapped in banana leaves and pit-roast...
Torta de Chorizo
Mexican chorizo torta; fresh pork sausage seasoned with guajillo/ancho chiles, vinegar, and spices; crumbled and fried.
Torta de Chorizo con Huevo
Chorizo and egg torta; scrambled eggs with crumbled chorizo.
Torta de Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles (fried tortilla chips in salsa with eggs/chicken) in a torta; carb on carb breakfast.
Torta de Chicharrón
Pork crackling torta; crispy fried pork skin, often pressed or in salsa.
Torta de Chicharrón Prensado
Pressed chicharrón torta; chicharrón cooked down in salsa verde until soft.
Torta de Chicharrón en Salsa Verde
Chicharrón in green salsa torta; pork cracklings braised in tomatillo salsa.
Torta de Cecina
Salted dried beef torta; cecina is thin-sliced, salted, partially dried beef, often grilled. Yecapixtla, Morelos is famous for cecina.
Torta de Cecina Enchilada
A central-Mexican telera torta built around cecina enchilada: thin beef rubbed with red chile paste, dried, and grilled, with refried beans sealing the crumb. The chile rub is the loudest note.
Torta de Carnitas
Carnitas is sold by the cut, and the torta is where it counts: maciza, buche, cuerito, or surtida, chopped from a copper pot of lard-fried pork into a bean-sealed, toasted bolillo.
Torta de Carne Asada
Grilled beef torta; carne asada (grilled marinated beef), sliced.
Torta de Camarón
Shrimp torta; grilled, fried, or in sauce—various coastal preparations.
Torta de Bistec
Bistec names a thickness, not a cut: beef sliced thin enough to sear in under a minute. The torta de bistec packs it, chopped and dripping, into a telera with refried beans and avocado.
Torta de Bistec Encebollado
Torta de bistec encebollado promotes the onion to co-star: thin beef cooked down with onions until both go jammy and sweet, on a griddled telera. The cooked-with-onions method is colonial Spanish.
Torta de Birria
Birria torta; Jalisco's famous chile-braised goat or beef stew, shredded, often served with consomé for dipping.
Torta de Barbacoa
Barbacoa torta; pit-roasted beef cheeks, lamb, or goat wrapped in maguey leaves, steamed until falling apart. Traditionally from Hidalgo.
Torta de Atún
Torta de atún is the lunchbox torta: cold canned tuna bound with mayonnaise in a bolillo, beans as a blotter, jalapeño as the cut. The can behind it came from an Ensenada cannery trade begun in 1925.
Torta de Arrachera
The northern parrillada's marinated skirt steak, grilled and chopped into a Mexico City telera over refried beans and avocado: the weekend grill cut given a weekday lunch format.