We first tried this dish at a restaurant near the seawall in Campeche. Perhaps because pan means bread, we were expecting something like a tuna or salmon loaf, but these stacks of tortillas spread with black beans and cooked fish, topped with tomato sauce, were a delicious surprise.
Ingredients:
For the fish filling:
- 1 tablespoon corn oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ pound firm-fleshed white fish, poached and shredded
- 1-2 epazote leaves
- 1 roasted, peeled tomato, finely chopped
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon corn oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 3 roma tomatoes, boiled, peeled and pureed
- 1-2 epazote leaves
- salt to taste
For each serving:
- 4 tortillas
- 6 tablespoons refried black beans
- 6 tablespoons fish filling (above)
Preparation:
To make the fish filling: heat the corn oil, add the onion and sauté until transparent. Add the fish, epazote and tomato and cook until the juice from the tomato has evaporated.
To make the sauce: heat the oil, add the onion, sauté until just softening, then add the epazote, tomato puree and salt to taste. Cook until the sauce has thickened slightly.
To assemble each pan de cazon: Heat the tortillas on both sides in a bit of oil until soft but not crispy. Spread 3 of the tortillas with 2 tablespoons each of the refried beans. Top each with 2 tablespoons of the fish filling. Stack one on top of another, top with the 4th tortilla and some of the tomato sauce.
Filling and sauce recipes make enough for 2 hearty, full-meal servings. To make smaller servings or to serve as a first course, cut down on the number and size of tortillas and fill proportionately.