Street FoodMediumFree

Veracruz-Style Picadas

Name: Veracruz-Style Picadas
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 300 ml Salsa roja o verde; 200 g Refried beans; 100 ml Soured cream; 150 g Fresh cheese; 0.5 White onion; 3 tbsp Pork lard; 1 tsp Salt; 500 g Corn dough; 2 Jalapeño chilli

35 min (20 prep + 15 cook) Medium 6 servings Veracruz

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 19 Mar 2026 · Updated: 25 Mar 2026

Thick corn tortillas with pinched edges, drenched in salsa and cheese, a Veracruz antojito.

About this recipe

Picadas are a traditional antojito from Veracruz: thick, freshly made corn tortillas whose edges are pinched to create a small rim that holds the salsa. They are lightly fried in lard, drenched in red or green salsa and topped with crumbled fresh cheese and chopped onion. Their name comes from the action of pinching or nipping the hot masa with the fingers to form the rim. They are similar to sopes but thinner and with a more subtle edge, making them lighter and crispier.

History & Origin

Picadas originate from the rural kitchens of the Huasteca Veracruzana and the Sierra de Puebla, where Totonac and Nahua cooks prepared them as everyday food using freshly nixtamalised corn. The name picadas comes from the verb picar in its sense of to pinch: the cooks pinch the edge of the thick tortilla freshly off the griddle, whilst it is hot and pliable, to create a rim that acts as a receptacle for the salsa. This technique requires hands toughened by years of working with the hot griddle. In the markets of Papantla, Xalapa and the Port of Veracruz, the picaderas are respected figures who keep this tradition alive.

Estimated cost

£5.50

Total cost

£0.92

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

260

Calories

Protein

36g

Carbohydrates

10g

Fat

Fibre

380mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Prepare the dough mixing the cornflour with warm water and salt until you get a dough soft that doesn't stick to your hands. If using dough fresh, simplemente season with salt.
💡 La dough should estar more thick that for tortillas normales. Cada bolita should pesar some 60 g.
2
Divide the dough into 12 bolitas equal. Aplana each a with a tortilla press or between dos plastic until formar a disc thick of some 10 cm of diameter and half centimetre of thickness.
3
Heat a comal (flat griddle) over medium-high heat. Cook each disc of dough for 2-3 minutes for lado until it is cooked pero still flexible. La surface should tener spots doradas.
4
Inmediatamente to the sacar of the comal (flat griddle), while the dough is hot, pellizca all the borde with the dedos for crear a reborde of aproximadamente 1 cm of alto that formará a small container.
💡 Use the dedos humedecidos for not quemarte. Trabaja rápido: the dough endurece to the enfriarse.
5
Heat the lard in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry each chopped with the lado of the borde towards on top for 1-2 minutes until the base it is slightly golden and crispy.
6
Serve the chopped hot: si deseas, spread a layer thin of refried beans in the base, drizzle generously with sauce hot, and corona with crumbled fresh cheese, chopped onion, cream and rodajas of jalapeño.