Tlacoyo

Tlacoyos are antojitos (appetizers or snacks) that are popular in Mexico, but have been cited in restaurants in the United States since only the 1990s. “Tlacoyo” is from the Nahuatl words tlatlaoyo and claclaoyo. Tlacoyos are oval-shaped (similar to a football) blue corn tortillas that are stuffed with beans, cheese, or other ingredients. Tlacoyos stuffed with yellow corn masa are called tlacoyos de dos masas.
   
   
Wikipedia: Tlacoyo
Tlacoyos are oval shaped fried or toasted cakes made of masa. They are similar to fresh corn tortillas, but are somewhat torpedo shaped and fatter. tlacoyos are stuffed with refried beans, dry cheese, fava beans, chicharron or other ingredients. Tlacoyos are an excellent accompaniment to soups and stews. Most traditional tlacoyos do not have lard or salt in the masa, and if not eaten immediately after they are cooked, they become very tough and dry, even if reheated. This dish is similar to the Salvadoran pupusa.
 
The name tlacoyo is a variation of the Nahuatl word tlatlaoyo, a name given to an antojito typical of central Mexico. A larger version of the tlacoyo is the huarache. They are good with sour cream, lettuce and hot salsa. 
   
Glossary - Mexican food recipes, cooking terms
Tlacoyos This is one of the oldest antojitos of all. Tlacoyos are made by patting tortilla dough around a filling, often of squash blossoms, huitlacoche or mushrooms, until fully enclosed into an elongated shape, which is then cooked on a comal
     
Your Mexican Kitchen:
A compilation of Mexican Recipes Practicable in the United States
by Natalie V. Scott
New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
1935
Pg. 11:
TLACOYOS
1 lb. of masa (see MASA)
3/4 cup of fried frijoles (see MEXICAN BEANS)
3/4 cup of grated fresh cheese
12 leaves of American wormseed
3/4 cup of green chile sauce (see GREEN CHILE SAUCE)
 
Make the dough into tortillas (see TORTILLAS) about 1/3 inch thick. In the center of each put 1 tbsp. of the beans, and spread them across the center of the tortilla. Over this put 1 tbsp. of cheese, then a tbsp. of the chili sauce, then a leaf of American wormseed, Fold the tortilla over tart fashion, and cook it on a thick dry iron skillet, or bake it in the oven. 
 
Google Books
The Otomi of the Northern Sierra de Puebla, Mexico
by James Dow    
East Lansing, MI: Latin American Studies Center, Michigan State University
1975
Pg. 20:
... and corn tarts (tlacoyos) to cook on the comal.
   
29 December 1994, Chicago (IL) Sun-Times, “Top Chefs Confess New Year’s Fantasies,” pg. 8:   
The cooks fry big sheets of chicarrones (pork rinds) in view of all the diners, and serve tlacoyos (masa cakes stuffed with fava beans and served with a ...   
 
Google Books
A Cook’s Tour of Mexico:
Authentic Recipes from the Country’s Best Open-Air Markets, City Fondas, and Home Kitchens
by Nancy Zaslavsky
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press
1995
Pg. 129:
Tlacoyos. Outside entrances to the fondas building on the plaza, women sell tlacoyos, handmade, oval, blue corn tortillas folded over lengthwise and filled with such gourmet temptations as huitlachoche and squash blossoms. Another variation is what market women call ava )pronounced aba), but that is also known as tlacoyos de dos masas—yellow corn masa within a thick blue masa oval—cookied on an ungreased clay comal, then topped with tomatillo salsa.
Pg. 131:
Potato tacos with or without chorizo are fabulous street food temptations as are the same excellent blue corn tlacoyos stuffed or smeared with pink-, garbanzo-, or lima-bean paste, sold by Indian women at Toluca’s market.
Pg. 146:
Other women sell tlacoyos, and unlike the blue corn version found in Toluca, these are yellow.
Pg. 172:
Mamelas are never filled, as are Mexico City’s tlacoyos, which are also made from blue corn exclusively, except when stuffed with yellow corn masa and called tlacoyos de dos masas (with two masas). [You’ll see tlacoyos all over Mexico’s central states, but great examples are found on the winding stairways at Taxco’s open-air market, the evening vendor’s at San Miguel de Allende’s Mercado El Nigromante, and those on the plaza at Toluca’s Friday market (and called by different names). Big cities’ ovals are often changed to faster-to-pat-out circles when there’s a crowd.]
(...)
Tlacoyos are never filled with black beans; the standard is refried pink beans or garbanzos.
     
11 October 1995, Chicago (IL) Sun-Times,  pg. 4:
Chef Dudley Nieto will present a menu of quesadillas stuffed with huitlacoche (the “truffle” of corn); tlacoyos (corn dough turnovers) in zucchini flowers ... 
 
Google Groups: alt.mexico
Newsgroups: alt.mexico
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Felix Pizarro R.)
Date: 1996/06/04
Subject: Typically Mexican
 
Of course, nearly every country has great veriety of food, but in Mexico the list of local dishes is endless. We have several types of moles; all kinds of hot sauces to put on top of the food; Mexican
appetazers, such as tostadas, enchiladas, sopes, quesadillas, and tlacoyos.
(...)
Tlacoyos are plump tortillas with refried beans inside. Onion rings and a sauce go on on top of these
 
Google Books
Mexico Handbook
by Sarah Cameron and Patrick Maher
Bath, England: Footprint Travel Guides
2000
Pg. 48 (Food and drink):
Maize can be seen in what is called antojitos (light snacks which may be eaten by themselves or as a starter), some of the most common of which are quesadillas, sopes, tostadas, tlacoyos and gorditas, which consist of various shapes and sizes of tortillas, with a variety of fillings and usually garnished with a hot sauce. 
 
Google Groups: austin.food
Newsgroups: austin.food
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Victor M. Martinez)
Date: 15 May 2001 15:22:21 GMT
Local: Tues, May 15 2001 10:22 am
Subject: Re: I give up! Food question…. 
 
ps-> to add to the confusion, there’s also sopes, garnachas, panuchos, picadas, salbutes, tlacoyos, molotes, pambazos, etc. all made with masa. 
 
Houston (TX) Press
Mexico City Tex-Mex
What is Las Llardas’s little secret?
By Robb Walsh
Published: September 4, 2003
Tlacoyos turn out to be fried pielike ovals of masa dough filled with beans and then baked. There are three of them on the plate, covered with salsa verde, sour cream, chopped lettuce and sliced radishes, with a sprinkling of Mexican cheese on top. They’re so good, my dining companion refuses to share. I raid her plate with a knife and fork while she’s not looking. 
 
Texas Monthly (October 2003)
Tlacoyos
Tlacoyo is the common name, a variation of the Nahuatl words tlatlaoyo and claclaoyo, given to an antojito typical of central Mexico: corn masa formed into a flattish elongated oval and stuffed often with ricotta, requeson, or a paste of fava beans. They vary enormously in size from very large—about 5 or 6 inches (13-15cm), in Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de Mexico—to medium—about 4 inches (10cm) in Xochimilco—to very small—about 3 inches (7.5cm) in Sierra Norte de Puebla. Most traditional tlacoyos do not have lard and salt in the masa, and if not eaten the minute they are cooked they become very tough and dry, even when reheated.
(...)
Excerpted from From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients, by Diana Kennedy. Published by Clarkson Potter, 2003.
 
Google Books
Mexico
by John Noble
Berkeley, CA: Lonely Planet
2004    
Pg. 83:
Tlacoyos are turnover-shaped antojitos made with smooth, fragrant corn dough—sometimes from blue or green corn—filled with everything from squash blossoms to hiutlacoche (see “Mexican Truffles,” p84) and cooked to a crispy, golden perfection on ungreased griddles.
 
Mental Masala
Friday, September 22, 2006
Tlacoyos - An Antojito for Football Season?
Just in time for football season, a (American) football-shaped snack: the tlacoyo. Tlacoyos are another in the family of antojitos (“little whims”), the delicious and diverse masa-based items from Mexico. Diana Kennedy, in From My Mexican Kitchen, writes
 
Tlacoyo is the common name, a variation of the Nahuatl words tlatlaoyo and claclaoyo, given to an antojito typical of central Mexico: corn masa formed into a flattish elongated oval and stuffed often with ricotta, requeson [a fresh cheese similar to ricotta], or a paste of fava beans. They vary enormously in size from very large—about 5 or 6 inches, in Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de Mexico—to medium—about 4 inches in Xochimilco—to very small—about 3 inches in Sierra Norte de Puebla.
 
The process for tlacoyos is relatively straightforward:
 
Mix the dough
Make a 1/8” (3 mm) thick circle
Add the beans
Pull up the dough to enclose the beans
Flatten the seam
Bake on a dry griddle
Shallow fry in oil
Top and serve (...)
 
The conquistadores
miércoles 31 de octubre de 2007
Mexican food
Every saturday there is a food market on our street. Our favorites are the “tlacoyos” which are oval shaped fried or toasted cakes made of masa. They are similar to fresh corn tortillas, but are somewhat torpedo shaped and fatter. they cost $0.80 and are increibly good but also very heavy. We could only eat 4 each. 
 
Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide
Thursday, November 15, 2007
BEST FOOD IN DF
THE 10 BEST THINGS I’VE EATEN IN MEXICO CITY
By Jim Johnston
(...)
4. Tlacoyos are found all over the city, usually made by women tending small charcoal fires in metal anafres on the street. Tlacoyos are palm-sized ovals of masa (corn dough), formed by hand and filled with frijoles (red beans), requesón (mild white cheese), or habas (fava beans—my favorite). Cooked on a greaseless griddle, they are served with nopales (cactus), onion, grated cheese, and your choice of red or green salsa. Healthy, delicious, and cheap (usually under 10 pesos), I find this one of the most satisfying snacks in town. You will see tlacoyos everywhere, but my favorite stand is on Calle Hidalgo in the Centro, facing the Alameda in front of the Museo de la Estampa. 

City Pages - Minneapolis/St. Paul (January 16, 2008) 
Antojitos are the street snacks of Mexico City, and the newest Los Ocampo on Lake Street offers an irresistible array
Antojito Paradise
By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl
TAQUERIA LOS OCAMPO #4
809 E. Lake St., Minneapolis  
(...)
On subsequent visits to Los Ocampo I was riveted by the textural differences: The tlacoyo ($3.50)—in which the masa is combined with whole and mashed pinto beans and cheese, griddle-fried, and topped with radishes, lettuce, and crema—is rustic and rough-hewn, bristling with patches as crisp as potato chips on its lumpy exterior.