DAY 7: Go-To Recipes
I think I may have mentioned before how much I admire versatility, but that doesn’t mean I can’t say it again. I admire versatility. To that end, many of my recipes are for things that I can use to make other recipes, or at least adapt into slightly different variations of itself. Two recipes came to mind when I was given today’s topic. Okay, essentially it’s 3. I’m going to make these into 2 posts (the other will come tomorrow; it’s getting late.) so that it’s a little easier to check back and use this recipes if you’re so inclined. Another user-friendly thing I’m going to do, is put all my comments and variations after the recipe instead of before since my blog is not set up in the normal “skip to the recipe” format most recipe blogs use. This is not a recipe blog. Okay. It is sort of a recipe blog right now.
Tortillas, Wheat Flour
(recipe from my mother from her friend)
MIX:
unbleached all purpose flour, 2 CUPS (whole wheat flour OR masa corn flour can be subbed for half the amount)
baking powder, 1 TSP
salt, 1 TSP
ADD:
oil, 1/4-3/8 CUP
warm water, 2/3 CUP
- Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula or fork until dough comes together.
- Knead using your hands a couple times to form a soft dough. Work in more water if the dough is a m hard; if it’s sticky sprinkle a little flour over the dough and knead it in. The final product should be a very soft dough, a little springy but NOT STICKY. BTW you can use a mixer and dough hook to make the dough. I use this method when I’m mixing several recipes at once.
- Divide dough into 9-12 pieces and roll each one into a ball.
- Leave the dough alone for a while and go do something fun. Or just work your butt off doing something else. Dough should sit for 15-30 minutes minimum, and can be left up to 5 or 8 hours, although after a couple hours the quality of the dough starts to deteriorate.
- Roll tortillas on floured surface, or use tortilla press to Create perfect rounds.
- Fry on hot cast iron pans or griddle, flipping to lightly brown both sides. (Should look similar to above pic)
Tortillas, Corn
corn masa flour, 1 CUP
warm water, approximately 1 CUP
- Pour warm water over flour, stirring constantly
- Keep stirring until dough comes together
- Keep adding water slowly to form a very soft dough.
- This dough can be tricky. Warm water seems to be key, as is adding a little more water than seems necessary.
- Work the dough with your hands. If it feels firm, then it won’t make good tortillas. The dough should be very soft and squishy. If you are familiar with Co-op’s Hey Clay, compare your dough to that. It should feel like the clay feels before it starts to dry. If you feel a little bit of a dry skin On your dough, you need to work in more water. I’ve had a very hard time pinpointing the measurement for water on this recipe. Next time I make it, I’ll try to use my scale; maybe that will work better.
- Now divide your dough into balls, approximately the size of ping pong balls
- Press tortillas between two pieces of parchment paper, using either a cold tortilla press of a rolling pin. Do not make the tortillas too thin or they will be difficult to pull from the parchment paper. If the tortillas crack as you press them, your dough isn’t wet enough. When that happens to me I usually lump my dough back together and work in a little more water.
- Fry tortillas on hot cast iron pan, flipping to lightly brown both sides.
Don’t be Daunted
If you’re not in the habit, making tortillas can seem slightly daunting. I’ve been making the first recipe for over 10 years, so I think I could safely and easily do it in my sleep. For most of those 10 years I made the tortillas using a rolling pin, rolling each one to paperthinnes. This admittedly is an art form and it takes practice to become proficient and fast. For my wedding I received an electric tortilla press from some friends, and, since then, I only use a rolling pin if a. I’m making less than a full recipe of tortillas or b. I want big tortillas for making something like wraps. To me, tortillas is an easy and quite fast meal. Living away from stores and fast food, i can’t run buy tortillas if I need them. But to be honest I don’t think I have ever bought tortillas. Becos i grew up eating homemade tortillas, I will never be able to properly enjoy a grocery store tortilla. *Adding tortilla snob to my list of flaws. This recipe is simple. Uncomplicated. Not too many steps. And Once you’ve done it a couple of times, it’s even easy.
Variations, Wheat Tortillas
Flour. I mentioned in the recipe that whole wheat or corn flour work well in this recipe.
Although the original recipe calls for white flour and really tastes the purest made that way, I rarely do. For a slightly healthier version I like to use whole wheat flour instead of half the unbleached flour. This seems to make the dough a little dryer so a drop more water might be needed.
Another version: I’ve started subbing 1 cup of masa corn flour instead of 1 cup of the unbleached flour. This makes a very beautiful springy dough that is easy to work with. It also gives the tortillas a vague corn-tortilla flavour without the difficulty of making full-corn tortillas. This version in my favourite.
Add-ins: throughout the years I’ve added all sorts of things to my tortillas, wanting to enhance their perfection even more. Paprika, cumin, taco seasoning, cilantro, tomato sauce, salsa, beets, etc. All of them have been fine. None have been spectacular, except the red beets, which I cooked and added to my norm’a recipe. Without affecting the flavour, the beets made the most beautiful pink tortillas, absolutely perfect for a princess party, baby or bridal shower, or just, like I did, for the fun of it.
Versatility, More Go-tos
*Stuffed with cheese and beans or a bit of leftover meat , fried in a little butter, these make the fastest quesadilla lunches, suppers, or snacks. Add sautéed onions and peppers to take them up a level.
*A half piece of blackened or deep fried chicken and a few lettuce leaves tossed with Caesar dressing, and you have a wrap
*any kind of meat can be made into tacos with minimal time and effort
*warmed in the microwave with cheese and salsa in a fast breakfast or snack BTT likes
*fried in a little oil, they can be crumbled into soup
*fresh, serve them with Chili to use as spoons
*enchiladas. The enchiladas options are vast.
*can be used as crust for personal pizzas, although this is not my favourite
*make into chips by cutting into triangles and baking or frying
No comments:
Post a Comment