Panuchos del Valle

V's brother O very kindly came round with a generous ration of delicious, locally-produced quesillo — so we thought it would be nice to include it in a simple, but very yummy lunchtime recipe.

Guatemalan tortillas have two sides, a hard espalda and the softer cara. We put one inch squares of the cheese between two caras and then fried these little sandwiches until their filling started to melt. We then poured a beaten egg over our panuchos to seal them. (It's worth adding a little milk to the egg so that it doesn't turn out too scragilly revuelto in texture.)

Meanwhile we fried some thin pieces of bistec in tequila and honey, adding a few drops of sesame oil and balsamic vinegar towards the end.

Then, as a final touch, we sprinkled scissor-cut yaki nori (Japanese roasted seaweed) over our dish. It adds an unusual and delectable maritime tang, but can easily be substituted with baby-leaf cilantro or lemon basil.

Spoonfulls of tomato or habanero-based sauces can then be deployed to taste: