After experimenting in
my kitchen for weeks, I feel fairly comfortable with the process of making
homemade flour tortillas. In fact, I think that I have mastered them.
It wasn’t hard. You need
a good recipe (I looked at a lot of them) and a bit of patience while rolling
them out paper-thin. It’s an exacting process but well worth it when you taste
one that comes hot off the comal.
Getting them round is
not so tricky once you figure out that the dough should be rolled from the
center to the edges and rotated slightly after each roll. Once you get the
process down and the dough has rested, you can make them fairly quickly.
Don’t let anyone tell
you that you don’t have to use lard when making tortillas. It’s the difference
between a good tortilla and a great one. The lard was the most important
ingredient and for anyone who tells you that vegetable shortening or oil will
yield the same results hasn’t actually tasted one made with lard. There is a
world of difference.
Weighing in on the good
fats, lard contains more monounsaturated fats than sunflower oil and corn
oil and more polyunsaturated fats than olive oil. It also has thirty percent less saturated
fat than butter and no trans fats at all.
I used a tortilla with a
little leftover chicken for lunch today. Again, the secret is to use a little
bit of meat and a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit. It’s a pretty healthy
lunch.
The Green Tomatillo
sauce below is an amazing addition. I thought that it had a little too much
cilantro when I first made it but the taste was fabulous on a quesadilla.
My favorite restaurant
near the University of Guadalajara use to spread Chihuahua cheese on a pizza
pan, popped it under the broiler until bubbly and brown and served it as a
make-your-own with a basket of hot flour tortillas, a bowl of green tomatillo
sauce and a shaker of salt.
Simple but the most
delicious Quesadilla ever and I simply can’t eat them any other way.
Safe to say that I will
never buy flour tortillas again.
Next round: Mole, a
sauce that is so difficult it will take months if not years to master.
I have so many friends
who learned the art of mole from their mother and grandmothers. Recipes and
techniques passed down for generations and once again, I suspect that it’s
going to take a brilliant recipe to master this.
Rick
Bayless once said that it took him over 20 years to get his black mole sauce
right. Bayless' version is made up of 26 ingredients while many others have
more than 30 of very complex flavors.
Shopping
to cook a mole will be an adventure all its own.
Stay tuned for the fun
and Bon Appetit!
Flour Tortillas
2 ½ cups All-purpose
Flour
2 ½ teaspoons Baking
Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ cup Lard
1 cup Hot Water
Combine the flour,
baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir together until mixed.
Add spoonfuls of lard.
Use a pastry cutter to cut mixture until it resembles crumbs. If you don’t have
a pastry cutter, use a fork.
Pour in the hot water
very slowly, stirring to bring together.
Knead dough
approximately 40 times until it becomes a solid ball of dough and is not so
sticky.
Cover with a towel and rest
for at least an hour.
Roll into the size of
golf balls. Place on a tray and cover with a towel. Let sit 30 minutes.
Heat a dark or cast iron
grill to medium-high heat.
One by one, roll balls
out until paper- thin. The trick is to roll out
the dough from the center to the edges, rotating the dough slightly after each
roll. It takes a little practice but you will quickly get the technique down.
Cook on each side for 30
seconds and remove while the tortillas are still soft but have
slightly brown spots. You can tell when to flip them as you can see the
air bubbles forming.
Remove and stack
tortillas. Cover with a towel to keep warm.
To warm, wrap in foil
and warm in the oven. Do not use a microwave as it changes the consistency of
the tortilla.
Green Tomatillo Sauce
8 Oz. Tomatillos
2 Jalapeños
2 Cups Cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
2 whole garlic, chopped
Place 8 oz. tomatillos
and 2 jalapeños in a 4-qt. saucepan, and cover with water by 1".
Bring to a boil over
high heat; cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
Drain vegetables, and
set aside to cool to room temperature.
Place in a food
processor along with 2 cups cilantro, 1 tsp. sugar, and 2 whole garlic, and
pulse until finely chopped but not puréed.
I also made traditional
Mexican corn. Since it was raining today, I used my
microwave to cook the corn (easy) and finished them off on my indoor grill.
Although the first
recipe is a little healthier, I liked the more authentic recipe with the
cotija cheese.
Mexican Corn
4 ears corn
4 Tbsp. Mayo
4 Tbsp. Salted Butter
Zest 1 Lime
Sea Salt
Smoked Paprika
Black Pepper
16 slices jalapeno
Combine mayo, butter,
lime, sea salt and paprika in a small bowl. Set aside.
Precook in microwave 6
minutes in a plastic bag with a little water.
Turn grill on medium. I
use my electric indoor grill. Grill corn and jalapenos until charred.
Cover with the butter
mixture.
Sprinkle with pepper and
paprika.
Serve with slices of
jalapeno on top.
Mexican Corn with Cotija
4 ears corn, shucked
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated cotija cheese
4 wedges lime (optional)
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.
Grill corn until hot and
lightly charred all over, 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the temperature of the
grill.
Roll the ears in melted
butter, then spread evenly with mayonnaise.
Sprinkle with cotija
cheese and serve with a lime wedge.
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