The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters 847: Vitamina T with Jorge Gaviria and Will This Make You Happy with Tanya Bush
Apr 10, 2026
Jorge Gaviria, founder of Masienda and masa expert, shares the delights of Vitamina T—tacos, tamales, tortas and other masa-based street foods. Tanya Bush, pastry chef and author, recounts a year of experimental baking that led to crowd-pleasing desserts like a dark chocolate and toasted coconut cake. They dive into regional techniques, inventive recipes, and comforting kitchen projects.
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How To Make Different Tostada Textures
- Make tostadas by toasting, baking, or frying tortillas and choose method by desired texture; dry-heat (toaster/oven/pan) yields crisp, hollow shells.
- For extra texture try raspadadas: semi-raw masa scraped to create a craggy surface that catches salsa.
Beet And Avocado Tostada Technique
- Try the Beet and Avocado Tostada: steam and peel beets, top with pickled onion and a deconstructed salsa macha of toasted chiles, peanuts, and raisins, then finish with avocado.
- The salsa components are bloomed in a pan, poured hot to emulsify over beets for coating and texture contrast.
What A Costra Is
- Kostra (costra) means crust and usually refers to cheese or other ingredients caramelized on the pan to form a crispy layer.
- Masienda's sweet potato costra uses pureed sweet potato pressed to form a caramelized base paired with feta-yogurt to balance sweetness.
