Recipe: Tortitas de Camaron (Tiny Omelettes Souffles with Dried Shrimp) and Salsa de Tomate para Tortitas for Casie

TORTITAS DE CAMARON
(TINY OMELETTES SOUFFLES WITH DRIED SHRIMP)
Makes 4 tortitas

2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
32 dried shrimp, heads removed, soaked in several changes of water to remove excess salt and drained
Salsa de Tomate para Tortitas (recipe follows)

In a small, slightly warmed deep bowl, beat the eggs until very thick, fluffy, and lemon-colored. This requires patience and is best done with a hand-held electric mixer at high speed.

In a large skillet, heat the oil to rippling over medium-high heat. Spoon 2 small portions (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup each) of the egg mixture into the pan. With the back of a spoon, immediately spread each portion out to a circle about 4 inches across. Working rapidly, scatter 8 shrimp over each and spoon a little more egg over the shrimp, smoothing with a spoon. Spoon a little of the hot oil over each of the little "omelets" to help set the beaten egg. Turn to cook the other side lightly. Remove from the pan to a paper towel to drain. Repeat with the remaining egg and shrimp.

Serve immediately with Salsa de Tomate para Tortitas.

---

SALSA DE TOMATE PARA TORTITAS
(TOMATO SAUCE FOR TORTITAS)

1 large ripe tomato
3 arbol chiles
1/2 teaspoon dried Mediterranean oregano or dried thyme, crumbled (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Notes from the author:
To me Tortitas de Camar n mean Lent and most states have their own slightly similar version. The following is from Oaxaca.

Dried shrimp is one of the defining notes in the food of Oaxaca. People have been salting and sun-drying boiled shrimp in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec since time immemorial. It is a way of preserving it for transport to distant areas without refrigeration. Of course, fresh shrimp is also valued. But it arrives in a twice-yearly glut during February and September. (I saw pink mountains of new shrimp at the village market of San Mateo del Mar in the main fishing region of the Isthmus -- clearly more than local families consume in the fresh state.) The dried product is a necessity that Oaxacans also consider a great delicacy. The flavor is so beloved that even now, when freezing technology could bring "fresh" shrimp to the more affluent, everybody cooks with dried shrimp all over the state.

This way of using the deliciously briny little shrimp comes from my generous and flamboyant Isthmian friend Venancia Toledo Hern ndez, who opened up so much of the regional cuisine to me. I came to her house one morning for an all-day cooking session and she greeted me with a splendid breakfast of meat-filled poblano chiles, some exquisite bean tamales, and these tortitas. The word is not exactly translatable, but the dish is a little like an old-fashioned fluffy omelet except that the eggs are not separated -- you whip them whole as if starting to make a g noise batter for a cake. This is the most difficult stage. Have the eggs at room temperature and if possible use a good hand-held electric mixer to beat them in a small deep bowl.

Venancia serves the tortitas with a spicy tomato sauce that you may also find useful for other purposes.

Source: The Food and Life of Oaxaca: Traditional Recipes from Mexico's Heart by
Zarela Mart nez