Wheat or corn flour?
Large or small?
Eaten with delicacy or devoured with alarming voraciousness?
Who knows. What I do know, is that they are surprisingly simple to make and create much less of a mess than you would imagine handmade flatbreads would. The first time I had truly homemade corn tortillas, small-batch, from pan to belly in under 10 min, was at J and S’ place in Halifax. They are master chefs, balancing being very cool humans (and very chill parents) with being very savvy chefs. That evening, J made the tortillas as a base for pulled chicken in a mole sauce, alongside copious amounts of other decadent things and bottles of excellent wine. Needless to say, you never leave their house hungry, and you never drive. Ever.
Fast forwarding 3 years, to my little house in Winnipeg, and I have made it a goal to stretch my culinary boundaries, which includes experimenting with basic starches (which I had shied away from before because come on, really? Sourdough?). To make these tortillas, I enlisted the long-distance help of S, who gave me invaluable tips on corn flour (Maseca for newbies, Bob’s Red Mill for those who know what’s up) and method (tortilla press vs. pleb skillet). I do not have a tortilla press, so S suggested a heavy skillet to press the dough into a clean round. I am also somewhat liberal with salt at times (particularly when I am new to a dish), which S cautioned me against as it can take away from the subtle smoky corny-ness of the tortillas.
And indeed, the best way to describe these tortillas is corny. And soft, yet firm, with a chewable texture that replaces the mealiness that you may associate with store-bought corn tortillas. And smoky, charred without being burned, a pungency that recalls the charcoal-grilled corn-on-the-cob vendors in India who slather their offerings in lime and spice. I topped my tortillas with lime and hot pepper flake-grilled shrimp, mango and red pepper salsa (recipe at the very bottom), and garlicky guacamole.
Tortillas take a bit of time to make, but with patience, a fume hood, and a crisp glass of La Vigne Des Sablons Vouvray, you cannot go wrong.
Corn tortillas
Inspired by J and S
Makes 16-20 tortillas
Active time: 30 min (more or less, depending on the size of your tortillas)
Resting time: 20 min
Cooking time: 20 min (more or less, depending on the size of your tortillas)
Ingredients
- 2 cups corn flour (I used Maseca masa)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups hot water, plus extra if needed
1. Mix the masa and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the hot water and mix together with your hands, kneading until the dough comes together into a soft ball with the texture of Play Doh, about 2-3 min. Add water as needed. The goal is to have the whole dough ball come together without being sticky, so add more corn flour if needed.
3. Let the dough rest under a kitchen towel for 15-30 min at room temperature – this allows the dough to absorb moisture. Skip this step if you are impatient, or drinking your wine too quickly and need to eat.
4. While the dough rests, prepare to press the tortillas. You can do this in one of two ways; both of them require you to cut a large freezer bag into two even sheets of plastic:
a. Tortilla press method: Line both sides of the press with plastic; the dough will go in between the plastic while being pressed.
b. Heavy skillet method: Place a piece of plastic on the counter top – you will place the other piece of plastic on top of the dough ball when you press it.
5. After resting, pinch off a piece of dough and roll into a ball; I made balls that were about 2 inches in diameter, but you can make them smaller or larger if you wish. Cover the remaining dough with a kitchen towel while you work.
6. Place the dough ball in the centre of the plastic. If using a press, press the dough between the two pieces of plastic to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. If using a skillet, cover the dough ball with the second piece of plastic and place the skillet on top of it. Press down on the skillet until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick. This may take a bit of trial and error; don’t worry about having to re-roll the dough.
7. Peel the dough off of the plastic and place each pressed, uncooked tortilla under another kitchen towel and keep covered to prevent it from drying out.
8. Repeat with remaining dough.
9. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat (I trended towards medium, as my elements get very hot).
10. Place a tortilla on the hot skillet and cook for about 2 min. You should start to see the edges of the tortilla lift off of the pan when it is almost ready to be flipped.
11. Flip the tortilla, and cook for another 1-2 min until both sides are done. They should look charred, but not burned. Remove the tortilla from the skillet and place under a kitchen towel.
12. Repeat with remaining tortillas. You may have to remove the skillet from the heat for a minute or two, occasionally, if it begins to smoke too much (a little bit of smoking is ok).
13. Serve immediately. If storing, keep at room temperature; when rewarming, wrap in a kitchen towel and microwave for 20 sec).
PS: No one will judge you for getting guacamole on your leggings. It’s not as though you haven’t been wearing them for 5 days straight.
Mango and red pepper salsa
Adapted ever so slightly from Rebar
Ingredients
- 2 mangoes
- ¼ red pepper
- ¼ red onion
- 1 serrano chili
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- juice from 1/3 lime
- salt, to taste
1. Finely dice the mangoes, so that the flesh remains intact (rather than mushy).
2. Finely dice the red pepper.
3. Finely dice the onion.
4. Finely dice the chili.
5. Chop the cilantro (err on the side of a rougher chop rather than a dice. We are not animals).
6. Mix everything together, adding the lime juice and salt to taste. Serve immediately; store in the fridge if needed but bring to room temperature before serving.
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