Did you think you would see me again until graduating my master's program? I wasn't sure myself. But embracing the local culture during summer I session has helped get me back on the keyboard.
For our community engagement course this summer, we had cultural competency as a learning objective. We are put into 3-4 person groups to give a presentation on different racial or ethnic groups in the US and have the option of making a food or beverage from that culture.
Because my group got Latino/Hispanics to study up on, our classmate graciously offered to teach my group how to make corn tortillas from masa, warm water and an optional bit of salt (she says about 1/2 tablespoon per 2 cups of masa). But she also says in that culture, people don't measure they just do it by experience and feel!
They tasted really sublime fresh (crispy outside and fluffy inside) and we used either a heavy book or rolling pin to flatten the dough rather than a tortilla press.
HAND-MADE CORN TORTILLAS
Supplies:
Large gallon zip-lock bags (said to work better than plastic wrap)
scissors
large mixing bowl
heat-ok container to hold warm water (not boiling to save your hands that will be mixing)
cast-iron griddle is best, but in a pinch can use coated frying pan or one of those pancake griddles.
rolling pin or heavy books (finally you can use those textbooks that just sit around)
Ingredients:
- Masa-finely ground corn flour (this is different from cornmeal)-the masa bag says 2 cups makes 19 tortillas...it really depends how big you make them. The larger they are the more likely they are to curl when cooking and you must press them down with a tool or if on the cheap using a clean towel folded up (to protect your hand).
- Salt (optional)
- Cheese of your choice (optional, we tried Queso Fresco a mild white firm cheese, my friend says the vivid orange Muenster cheese is also popular as a snack with tortilla) or other toppings you enjoy...salsa, avocados, butter, beans...or your carnivore delights.
0. Before anything else, preheat your griddle or pan over medium heat.
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1. Take your ziplock bag. Cut along the zipper side and its 2 connecting sides, leave the bottom seam of the plastic bag intact. This will be your non-stick surface for pressing/rolling the tortillas.
2. Put your masa into the large bowl. Add your salt if desired.
3. Add splashes of the warm water at a time, mixing with your CLEAN hands in between water additions. Keep mixing until you get a play-doh like consistency. The dough is not very sticky and easily holds it's shape. If you accidentally add more water, sprinkle some more masa in there. It's a forgiving recipe and my tortilla guru told me you cannot overwork corn tortillas.
4. Roll some balls. Experiment to see what size you want-we made some slightly bigger than golf balls and some that yielded closer to a 5" tortilla). If the dough gets cracks, add a little more water and massage it in.
5. Place a dough ball on the plastic bag, fold the plastic over and then you can smush using a book or roll using a rolling pin/stick. Use that forearm strength! Make your desired thickness...again your preference.
6. Flip your dough from the plastic onto the griddle/pan. Let the tortilla steam and cook 2-3 minutes each side (or until you can easily flip it to the other side. Cast iron is more likely to give you some charred edges and little black flecks if that is what you enjoy.
7. Remove the tortilla from the pan and let cool just a few moments before you savor with your favorite cheese, avocados, beans or salsa.
I think the leftovers taste the best if reheated in a toaster oven.
I worked towards one of my goals to reach out to new social groups this summer. I went out on a sunset hike with a meetup.com group. One person named Jessica and I started talking about food. I had purchased some edible cactus (called Nopales, apparently San Diego has it too but I guess I never went to the right markets) at the Las Cruces farmers market with a classmate---Finally went after being here a year----and wanted ideas of how to cook it. I ended up making a salsa. I'll share it with you next post but it really pretty much is a salsa with adding cactus in place of half of the tomatoes. I'll also try to remember to take pictures of the tart Jamaica tea and share that too. Until next time food lovers!
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