Cemitas

Until a couple days ago, I had never heard of these amazing sandwiches which are native to the Mexican State of Pueblo.  These might look like a hamburger but don't be fooled.  They are an explosion of flavors which will make your taste buds sing.  They are a festival of flavors.  You could use store bought hamburger buns to make these but a true cemita is eaten on a rich, fluffy bun after which the sandwich is named.

 Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp. salt, 2 T. sugar, 2 tsp. rapid rise yeast, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup of canola oil and knead it until you have a smooth ball of dough, adding more flour if needed.  Form the dough into 8 balls and flatten slightly.  Cover with plastic and let them rise for about 30 minutes.

 Brush them with milk and sprinkle them with lots of sesame seeds.

 Bake them in a 400  degree oven for about 23 minutes until golden.  Cool on a rack.  Aren't they beauties?

 To assemble the cemitas, slice a roll in half.

 Spread one side with mayonnaise.  Sprinkle with some garlic powder.

 Spread one side with avocado and top with sliced tomatoes.  I only had cherry tomatoes so that is what I used.  Spread the other side with some re-fried beans.  I used red pepper hummus since I had no re-fried beans.

 Add some lettuce and some onion.

 Grate some Oaxacan cheese (or use Monterrey Jack).

 Add some meat.  You could use chorizo or anything you like. I made some chicken paillard which I prepared in advance.

 Add a fried egg.

Top the egg with a few peppers in adobo.  In Mexico, fresh papalo would be added but I haven't had a chance to check our Mexican stores for it so I used fresh cilantro.

 Sit the sandwich on a sheet of waxed paper.

  Wrap it tightly to press it together.

 Cut it in half like above.  This will hold the sandwich together to make it easier to eat.

There are so many versions of cemitas.  They can very easily be made vegetarian like the first one I ate which was made with asparagus.  These are some of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten.