Paches: Guatemala's Potato Tamales (Thursday Tradition)

Thursday is paches day in Guatemala. It is one of those unwritten rules that everyone follows – the way certain countries have fish on Fridays, Guatemala has paches on Thursdays. The tradition is strongest in Quetzaltenango (Xela), where paches are practically the city’s culinary identity, but it extends across the entire country.

Paches are potato tamales. Instead of the corn masa used in tamales colorados and tamales negros, paches use a smooth, buttery mashed potato base that is mixed with a rich recado sauce, filled with shredded chicken or pork, and wrapped in banana leaves. The result is softer, creamier, and more delicate than corn tamales – a completely different eating experience.

The origins trace back to Quetzaltenango and the western highlands, where potatoes grow abundantly in the cool volcanic soil. Someone – history does not record who – had the idea to replace corn masa with potato. It worked so well that paches became a category of their own, with regional variations across Guatemala. The Quetzaltenango original uses pure potato. The capital city version adds corn flour and bread crumbs. Both are good. The Xela version is better.

Ingredients

For the Potato Masa

• 5 lbs (2.25 kg) potatoes, peeled and boiled
• 1/2 lb (225g) butter or margarine
• Salt to taste

For the Recado

• 6 large ripe tomatoes
• 6 miltomates (tomatillos)
• 1 large white onion, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 dried chile guaque, seeds removed
• 1 dried chile pasa
• 60g sesame seeds
• 60g pepitoria (hulled pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tablespoon achiote paste
• 1/2 French bread, toasted and soaked in water

For the Filling

• 2 lbs (900g) chicken or pork, cooked and shredded

For Assembly

• Fresh banana leaves
• Red bell pepper strips
• Kitchen twine

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the potato masa. Boil the peeled potatoes until very soft – they should fall apart when poked with a fork. Drain thoroughly. Mash while hot until completely smooth with absolutely no lumps. Mix in butter and salt. The consistency should be like thick, spreadable mashed potatoes. Set aside.

Step 2: Make the recado. On a hot comal, individually toast: chile guaque and chile pasa until pliable (2 minutes per side), sesame seeds until golden (3 minutes), and pepitoria until they pop (2 minutes). Then roast the tomatoes, tomatillos, onion quarters, and garlic until well charred on all sides.

Step 3: Blend and cook the recado. Combine all toasted and roasted ingredients with the soaked bread (squeeze excess water), achiote paste, and 1 cup of water in a blender. Blend until very smooth. Strain through a mesh strainer into a pot. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens and darkens.

Step 4: Season the masa. Mix about 1 cup of the recado into the mashed potato mixture. This gives the masa color and flavor. The rest of the recado will be used as sauce inside each pache.

Step 5: Prepare banana leaves. Pass each banana leaf briefly over a gas flame or hot comal to make it pliable. Cut into 12x12-inch squares. Wipe clean.

Step 6: Assemble. Place a banana leaf square on your work surface. Spread about 1/3 cup of the seasoned potato masa in an oval shape in the center. Add 2 tablespoons of shredded meat, spoon 2 tablespoons of recado over the meat, and place a strip of red bell pepper on top. Fold the banana leaf: bottom up, top down, then fold the sides in. Tie with kitchen twine or a strip of banana leaf.

Step 7: Steam. Stand the paches upright in a large steamer pot with 2 inches of water at the bottom. Pack them snugly. Cover tightly and steam for 1.5 hours over medium heat. Check water level every 30 minutes. The paches are ready when the potato masa pulls away cleanly from the banana leaf.

Como Lo Hacemos en Guatemala (Local Tips)

Thursday is paches day. This is not optional. If you make paches on any other day of the week, you are technically allowed to, but a true quetzalteco would look at you funny. Jueves de paches is tradition.

Mash the potatoes while hot. Cold potatoes become gluey when mashed. Work quickly while they are still steaming for the smoothest texture.

The recado in the masa is subtle. You are not making the masa bright red – just a light tint and background flavor. Too much recado in the masa makes it wet and difficult to handle.

Butter, not lard. Unlike corn tamales that use pork lard, paches traditionally use butter or margarine. This is one of the key flavor differences between paches and tamales colorados.

Find Ingredients in the US

Approximate Nutrition (per pache)

More Guatemalan recipes: Tamales Colorados | Tamales Negros | Chuchitos

Related: Guatemala Food Guide | Quetzaltenango Department | Food Prices