The snack time in the middle of the morning on Saturdays, when you have a little more time to prepare, tempts you to taste a more elaborated salad dish. Nothing better for this moment that to enjoy a dish who reunites several flavors: the enchilada.

Elaborated with ingredients as diverse as the Guatemalan history, the enchilada is one of the more popular snacks of the regional cooking.

Its preparation is simple, although it requires some precision in the work. The main part of the enchilada is the pickled vegetables. They use fresh vegetables, such as carrots, string beans, cabbage, beets, onions and peas, all spiced with salt and vinegar, so it acquires its characteristic taste and seasoned with laurel and thyme.

According to historian and anthropologist Celso Lara, this is a Hispanic heritage received by the Spanish presence during colonial times. The pickled salad is also the product of a big cultural mixture received by the Spaniards, specially the spices brought by the Arabs from the East.

The use of vinegar and laurel is part of the Mediterranean tradition. And Guatemala incorporated local ingredients, like string beans.

One of the most interesting facts is that at the end of the 18th Century they already mention a pickled salad that was eaten with tortilla, instead of wheat bread, as the Spanish used to do.

Another native ingredient is the tomato and miltomate (little green tomatoes) sauce which dresses and decorates the enchilada; and of course, the fried corn tortilla which is the base and apparently turns it into a plate-less snack.

To make its flavor even more refreshing, a lettuce leaf is placed on top of the tortilla, then you add chopped or grind meat, even though the outstanding flavor comes from the pickled salad. It is decorated with slices of boiled egg and onion and sprinkled with chopped parsley and dry cheese. Few recipes are this mestizo.

The queen of hors-d'oeuvres is ready to be served around 10 o'clock in the morning or at mid afternoon, because it is a light but very complete snack, which will satisfy you while you wait for the main course.

However, eating an enchilada is a true art; many people have had the nuisance of biting the enchilada craving for the freshness of the pickled salad and loosing the rest because the tortilla cracks.

The sloppy ones, resigned to break the tradition, serve it on a dish and use a fork. Sometimes they use a knife to break the tortilla without making a mess on the table.

Nevertheless, the real experts in Guatemalan etiquette enjoy the complete pleasure of the enchilada, eating it in society and with their hands, properly and tasting each ingredient with the magic of the combination of this delicious snack.

There are only a few that have this ability and modern times have helped us to forget even those manners, but what time cannot do is deprive us from an appetizing enchilada, even though you don't need to wait for the old tradition of snacks.