Lengua is tongue. The word comes from the Latin “Lingua.” I’m just going to stop there.
I went to the HEB at Slaughter Lane today to shop for beef tongue among other things. They have a great selection of Mexican foods that the Central Market does not – tongue among them. One tongue is enough to provide us with three meals.
Tonight’s tongue meal was Lengua smothered in Pipian sauce with a side of avocado slices and some flour tortillas. I decided to crumble some Queso Fresco over the Pipian in the way that folks in Oaxaca crumble it over black beans. As it turned out, the Pipian overpowered the cheese so that it was barely noticeable; it was an aesthetic touch rather than an actual flavor enhancement.
Susan put a chunk of queso fresco on the side of her plate, and she said that it was better that way. The dish looked like this.
