Torta frita

Ingredients

• Flour500 g
• Hot water250 ml
• Lard — melted80 g
• Baking powder1 tsp
• Oil for frying1 l
• Sugar — to serve50 g
• Dulce de leche — to serve200 g
• Salt1 ½ tsp

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Mix the flour with the salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

   5 min

2. 2

   Melt the lard and stir it into the hot water until even.

   6 min

3. 3

   Pour the liquid into the flour and work it with a spoon until it cools enough to handle.

   8 min

4. 4

   Knead by hand for ten minutes to a smooth elastic dough.

   12 min

5. 5

   Cover it and rest it twenty minutes at room temperature.

   22 min

6. 6

   Divide it into eight, roll each into a half-centimetre round and cut a slit in the centre.

   15 min

7. 7

   Fry at 180 °C for a minute and a half a side and serve with sugar or dulce de leche.

   20 min

About the dish

The dough is made on hot water with rendered fat. Hot water relaxes the gluten and the round puffs into a bubble instead of staying flat.

A slit or a hole is cut in the centre. Steam escapes through it and the round fries evenly rather than inflating into a ball and bursting.

They are fried on rainy days — a habit so fixed that Uruguayans call rain "torta frita weather". It is a culinary omen rather than a recipe.

Worth knowing

• — The oil has to be hot enough for the round to surface at once. In warm oil it soaks up fat and turns heavy.
• — The slit is not optional. Without it the round inflates into a ball and bursts, throwing oil.
• — They are eaten at once, hot. A cooled torta frita turns tough and does not reheat well.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

380 kcal

Protein

6 g

Fat

18 g

Carbs

48 g

More from Uruguay

• Chivito — A sandwich of thin steak, ham, bacon, cheese and a fried egg. Uruguay's national dish.
• Milanesa a la napolitana — A breaded cutlet under tomato sauce, ham and melted cheese.
• Buseca — A thick tripe soup with white beans, chorizo and vegetables, Uruguayan winter food.