Citizens, welcome to the Mexican “Ham and cheese sandwich”! You may think this is tex-mex, but no it is most authentically Mexican fare, I assure you!
As noted on 2 different top food blogs:
The sincronizadas can be seen as the Mexican version of a “sandwich with tortillas”; or the adorned cousins of the quesadillas ; as it consists of 2 tortillas that have in between a layer of melted cheese and a ham slice.
As you can see this is a very simple recipe… but they are very good – and when salsa is added to the sincronizadas, its flavor becomes phenomenal.
The beauty of the sincronizadas is that they can be eaten at any hour of the day. They can be served as appetizer, as breakfast and even as a main course.
In fact you can prepare a pretty and complete plate with a sincronizada accompanied of refried beans, mixed salad, guacamole and Mexican cream.”
TFD has chosen to pair his sincronizada recipe with the unique Chiapas Salsa!
This recipe consists of a simple salsa because few ingredients are used in its preparation and it is also important to highlight that it has an interesting thick consistency. The Chiapas style salsa is known as “pilico salsa”, although this is a name that is only used in Chiapas.
In the preparation basically the Simojovle chilies are combined with pumpkin seeds. The salsa’s texture is unmistakable and its flavor is very spicy.
The Simojovel pepper is a chili that is only grown in Chiapas it is of small size, its color is reddish and it has conical shape. The name that was assigned to the chili is due to its place of origin, the municipality of Simojovel, Chiapas.
The salsa is thickened with cornstarch and it cannot be substituted for maize flour. The salsa is delicious on chicken and other meats as well.
Citizens, enjoy my unique take on this recipe, which includes chopped pickled jalapeños and a unique mustard dipping sauce! 🙂
Battle on – The Generalissimo
PrintThe Hirshon Chiapas-Style Sincronizadas
Ingredients
- For Sincronizadas:
- Flour tortillas
- Shredded melting-style cheese – TFD prefers Swiss, but cheddar or Monterey Jack are traditional
- Thin slices of Virginia ham
- Chopped pickled jalapeños
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Chiapas-style Salsa:
- 2 Simojovel Peppers – if you can’t find them, substitute 1 1/2 arbol peppers or 4 pequin peppers
- 1/2 cup Pumpkin Seeds – The pumpkin seeds must not have a shell or be salted
- 1/4 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
- 1/4 tablespoon Salt
- Jalapeño Mustard Dipping Sauce (TFD addition, optional):
- Powdered mustard
- Jalapeño vinegar (from the can of jalapeños)
- Water
- Sliced avocados for garnish
Instructions
- To make the Chiapas salsa:
- Put peppers on a griddle over medium heat and roast them for approximately 1 minute, until all their sides are moderately roasted; move them regularly with some tongs.
- Don’t roast the chiles for much longer or their flavor becomes bitter.
- Transfer from the griddle to a blender, with the tongs, the chilies that were roasted. Also add to the blender the pumpkin seeds and chicken stock.
- Blend all the ingredients very thoroughly.
- Put the blended mixture, the cornstarch and salt into a small saucepan.
- Mix the ingredients and bring the Chiapas-style salsa to a boil over medium heat; stir constantly. Cook the salsa for about 3 minutes, until it thickens; stir occasionally. Serve or store as required.
- To make the Sincronizadas:
- Cook all the tortillas on one side (the inside) before stacking – heat them in a dry skillet until lightly crispy.
- Here are the order of ingredients to layer: tortilla, a very light smear of salsa, cheese, fanned slices of ham, chopped pickled jalapeños, more cheese, ground black pepper and top with a tortilla.
- Cook the Sincronizadas in a little butter on the griddle on both sides until crispy and the cheese is melted. Cut into quarters and serve with optional dipping sauce and sliced avocados.
- For the jalapeño mustard dipping sauce, combine equal parts powdered mustard & the jalapeño vinegar (from the can of jalapeños) and thin to taste with water.
Que rico