Since I was a small child one of my favorite foods in the entire world has been a dish that many Holtvillites are probably familiar with: The Pancho Villa Salad served at Holtville school cafeterias.
My mom has been the cook at the school district's kitchen for the past 16 years and she says that Pancho is by far the most popular dish served at the cafeteria. She says that people who have graduated and gone away to college have come back to the cafeteria just to eat Pancho again. People also ask her how to make it all the time, so I thought I'd share the recipe. I've made it a few times at home and I've been able to replicate the cafeteria version pretty closely.The dish is fairly simple, consisting of seasoned ground beef served over corn chips and topped with shredded lettuce and cheese, but in order to make it taste like the version served at the cafeteria a few key elements must be in place.
Start by taking a couple of pounds of ground beef and smooshing it up with your hands so it has a smoother consistancy. You want the finished product to be fairly thin and saucy so it will spread onto the chips properly. This step is important and is overlooked by many attempting to replicate the recipe.
Brown the beef, making sure to chop up any remaining lumps with a wooden spoon, drain the fat, then add a can of tomato paste, a cup of water and at least two tablespoons of red chile powder (I like mine spicy, so I usually add a little more chile powder, around 4 or 5 tablespoons.). You can use the California or the New Mexico style chile powder, but I recommend the California style for this recipe. You also want to add a few tablespoons of dehydrated onions, another ingredient that is essential for getting the flavor right, but is sometimes overlooked. Continue to simmer the meat over low to medium heat for another 10-15 minutes.Spread a couple handfuls of white tortilla chips (I like the Mission brand ones) on a plate and top with the meat sauce, shredded chedder cheese and finely-chopped iceburg lettuce. And that's all there is to it!
There are tons of possible variations to this recipe, adding salsa, jalapenos, sour cream, etc., but I really like it without anything else added, just the way Holtville schools have been serving it for more than 30 years.
