Thursday, April 18, 2013

Home Made Tortillas


 I love a fresh hot tortilla, dripping with butter and with some lovely Chile Verde inside.    We had some Chile Verde the other day, and I made some tortillas to go with it.   It just so happened I actually remembered to take pictures this time, and I thought I would let you follow me along while I made them.

First off, you need the makings for the dough, I use Quakers Harina Preparada  Para Tortilla Mix.  Yes, I said mix, and if you read along here you know I use very little prepared foods, I really prefer to do it as much of it from scratch as possible.   But, this mix, well, I've tried many recipes, and most are pretty good, but using this mix is pretty much Sid proof.

To start with, measure out two cups of mix into the bowl of your Kitchen Aide mixer if you have one, or just use a good wooden spoon to mix it together.   Add just over a 1/2 cup of very hot tap water, mix and knead for a few minutes, then set it aside to rest for a little while.   The dough will be lovely and elastic.     We like our tortilla's a little thicker and poofier so I learned to add just a touch more water.

After the dough has had a chance to rest from all that mixing together stuff, take it out and cut into 5 even pieces.  Well, if you want six or more you can do so, but I've found this makes 5 'right size' tortillas.






 Lightly and I do mean lightly, flour the counter with a little of the dry mix, make a little ball out of each piece of dough and then pat out into a roughly circular piece.  You can keep patting it out or use a rolling pin to finish it off. 








 Heat up a cast iron skillet til very warm, don't grease it, just get it nice and hot.   Place one of the dough rounds into the pan.  It will start to bubble a little, at which point you flip it over.  This only takes about 30 or so seconds per side.    I usually turn down the heat a little on the third tortilla, cause let's face it, cast iron skillets hold their heat, and while you want a nice brown to the tortilla, you don't want it burnt.  Just a couple of char marks, for flavour.

And here is the finished tortilla.   After I remove the tortilla from the pan, I spread some butter on it and wrap it in some foil.   This keeps it warm as I finish cooking the rest of the tortillas, and adds some flavor as well.   And keeps them soft as well. 
If you notice the nice little almost burnt bits on the tortilla, this is what makes a tortilla taste great.     And the little puddle of butter on top, well, that just pushes it over the top.

 

Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

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