Tlacoyos de haba

Step 1: Rinse 5 ½ oz dried split fava beans (habas), skinned, put it in a pan with 2 garlic clove and 700 ml water and simmer, half covered, for 35–40 minutes, until the beans collapse when pressed with a spoon. Drain off any water left on top.

Step 2: Mash the beans with 2 tbsp vegetable oil and ½ tsp salt into a thick, stiff purée that holds its shape on a spoon. If it is wet, stir it in a dry pan over a medium heat for a few minutes. Let it cool.

Step 3: While the beans cook, simmer the diced 7 oz fresh cactus paddles (nopales), cleaned in salted water for 8–10 minutes, until they turn olive green and the sticky slime has cooked away. Drain, rinse well and toss with ½ white onion and a pinch of the remaining salt.

Step 4: Mix 10 ½ oz blue or white masa harina with the rest of the salt and 1 ¾ cups warm water and knead for 2 minutes into a soft dough that feels like play dough and does not crack at the edges when pressed. Add a spoonful more water if it cracks. Divide into 8 balls and keep them covered with a damp cloth.

Step 5: Heat a comal or heavy frying pan over a medium heat. Flatten a ball in your palm into a 10 cm round, put 1 heaped tablespoon of fava purée in the middle, fold the masa over to enclose it and pinch the seam shut.

Step 6: Pat the stuffed dough between your palms into an oval about 1 cm thick and 14 cm long, with pointed ends. Common mistake: pressing too thin, which tears the masa and lets the filling burn on the pan.

Step 7: Cook the tlacoyos for 4–5 minutes a side, until dry to the touch with toasted brown spots and they sound hollow when tapped. Keep the cooked ones wrapped in a cloth while you make the rest.

Step 8: Top each tlacoyo with ¾ cup salsa verde, the nopal salad and 1 tbsp fresh coriander, and crumble over 2 ⅛ oz queso fresco if you like. Eat straight away, while the masa is still soft inside.