Facts About Baleada
A baleada is a traditional Honduran dish composed of a flour tortilla, filled with mashed fried red beans, thick cream (mantequilla Hondureña, and crumbled hard salty cheese. It originates from the north coast of the country; Aside from beans, there is a whole variety of ingredients that can be added to the Baleada. The most common types of baleadas are the baleadas sencillas which has crumbled cheese and mantequilla. Other common variety of baleada is the baleada mixta which has the same as the baleada simple but with an addition of scrambled eggs. Many other people add sausage, plantain, hot sauce, avocado, chicken, pork and chismol which is diced tomato, onion and bell pepper. The big Honduran towns often have more than one restaurant that sells baleadas.
Types of baleada
There are different kinds of baleada according to the ingredients chosen by the customer or the region of Honduras.
- Simple baleadas (refried red beans, cream/crema, cheese)
- Special baleadas (refried red beans, cream/crema, cheese, scrambled eggs)
- Super special baleadas (refried red beans, cream/crema, cheese, scrambled eggs, chicken, ground meat or sausage)
In the region of Olancho and Cojutepeque the special baleada is served with all of the above and "carne asada" (grilled meat).
The Bay Island of Utila, off the coast of La Ceiba, adds pickled onions and creole (criollo) cheese to the beans.
In popular culture
In the Honduran movie Amor y Frijoles, the protagonist is a woman that cooks baleadas for a living.
In 2017, Chef Gordon Ramsay visited Honduras. He ate baleadas while there and said that baleadas are the best Latin American cuisine.
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