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Huauzontle Fritters

Name: Huauzontle Fritters
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 65 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 0.5 White onion; 2 Pasilla chilli; 3 tbsp Plain flour; 1 tsp Salt; 200 g Oaxacan cheese; 600 g Huauzontle; 4 Egg; 2 cloves Garlic; 4 Tomato; 4 tbsp Vegetable oil

65 min (30 prep + 35 cook) Medium 4 servings Centro de México

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 30 Mar 2026 · Updated: 30 Mar 2026

Battered huauzontle fritters stuffed with Oaxacan cheese in pasilla chilli sauce. Mexican Lent at its most authentic.

About this recipe

Battered and fried huauzontles in tomato sauce. A Lenten dish from central Mexico featuring this pre-Hispanic plant stuffed with cheese.

History & Origin

Huauzontle is one of Mexico's most ancient plants, cultivated since pre-Hispanic times by the Aztecs under the Nahuatl name "huauhtzontzintli". It belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family, a close relative of quinoa and chia, and was so highly valued that Hernán Cortés banned its cultivation during the conquest, considering it linked to indigenous religious rituals. Fortunately, the plant survived in the humblest homes of the Valley of Mexico and the State of Mexico, where it never stopped being grown. Huauzontle fritters are one of the most representative dishes of Lent in central Mexico. During the forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, Catholic tradition recommends abstaining from red meat, and Mexican cuisine responded with extraordinary creativity: nopales, purslane, rosemary sprigs and, above all, huauzontles became the stars of the Lenten table. The battering technique — wrapping the ingredient in egg whites whisked to stiff peaks and then frying it — is a legacy of 17th-century convent cooking, when New Spanish nuns fused European battering techniques with local ingredients. The result is a light, golden fritter that conceals inside it the green huauzontle sprigs and melted Oaxacan cheese, all bathed in a tomato and pasilla chilli sauce. Today, huauzontle fritters are sold in the markets of Xochimilco, Tlalpan and La Merced throughout Lent. Every family has its own version: some add epazote to the sauce, others use panela cheese instead of Oaxacan. What never changes is the pride of keeping a pre-Hispanic legacy alive in every mouthful.

Estimated cost

£6.00

Total cost

£1.50

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

280

Calories

14g

Protein

22g

Carbohydrates

16g

Fat

Fibre

420mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Wash the huauzontle sprigs and boil in salted water for 8 minutes until tender but not mushy. Drain well and leave to cool on a clean cloth. It is important they are as dry as possible so the batter adheres well.
💡 Well-drained huauzontle is key to preventing the batter from falling off during frying.
2
Form fritters by taking one huauzontle sprig, placing a piece of Oaxacan cheese in the centre and wrapping another sprig around it so the cheese is enclosed inside. Dust lightly with flour and set aside.
3
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. Once very firm, fold in the yolks one at a time with gentle folding movements until a homogeneous and fluffy batter forms.
💡 Egg whites whisked to stiff peaks are the secret to a light, golden batter.
4
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Submerge each fritter in the egg batter, coating it completely, and fry in batches of 2-3 for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
5
For the sauce, char the tomatoes, pasilla chilli, onion and garlic on a dry comal or frying pan over medium heat until lightly blackened. Soak the pasilla chilli in hot water for 10 minutes. Blend everything together with a little of the soaking water and salt to taste.
💡 Pasilla chilli gives the sauce its characteristic dark colour and smoky flavour.
6
Fry the blended sauce in a tablespoon of hot oil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add a cup of water or vegetable stock, adjust the salt and leave to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
7
Add the battered fritters to the hot sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes over low heat so they absorb the flavours of the chilli and tomato. The sauce should reach halfway up the fritter.
💡 The fritters will soften in the sauce; if you prefer them crispier, serve the sauce separately.
8
Serve 2-3 fritters per person generously bathed in the pasilla chilli sauce. Accompany with red rice, black beans and freshly made corn tortillas for a complete Lenten meal.