Homemade Corn Tortillas

Why would anyone go to the trouble to make their own tortillas, you ask? Because they are infinitely better than any you can buy at the store, for one, and because you just got a new toy from the Viking Store! I cannot resist a kitchen store- I enter a Williams Sonoma or a Sur la Table the way most women enter Anthropologie. It is physically impossible for me to leave empty-handed. On my last visit to one of these hallowed places, I found a tortilla press. I have always wanted one, but have just never picked one up from the mexican market while shopping for cajeta or some such other mexican delicieux. Finally, I came to my senses and made the purchase, not a big one at all, by the way. About $25 for a new toy? Much cheaper than a pair of jeans at Anthropologie. So, on to the next step: use of the toy. I confess, it was not instant success. I had many throw-aways, but the good news about throw-aways here is that you can just ball the mess up and start over with the same dough! And, ever since I discovered how easy it is to make the dough (just add water to your Maseca), I have wanted to make homemade tortillas. Here's how simple it is:

Prepare your dough according to the instructions on the package of Maseca (the corn flour required to make the dough). Divide the dough into balls just smaller than a golf ball. Do this before you start pressing, trust me, it will be easier that way. You don't want your hands all sticky with dough when you are trying to press out these little buggers. Once you have your dough all rolled up into balls, cover them with a clean damp towel so they don't dry out. Then, put a piece of plastic wrap on each inside plate of your tortilla press. Plastic wrap works better than wax paper, as the dough tends to stick to the wax paper. Pop one of those dough balls onto the center of the bottom plate and press down, briefly closing the latch on the top of the press. Then lift the top plate up, and there you have it! A nice little round tortilla ready for the skillet! Now comes the tricky part, peeling the tortilla off of the press. Just do it carefully, and if it rips, ball it up and do it again. When you are finished pressing your tortilla, put it in the middle of an ungreased hot cast-iron skillet for about a minute per side. Then continue on with the rest in the same fashion. As they come off of the skillet, they can be stacked and covered with a clean kitchen towel. Now you can make enchiladas, tostadas, tortilla soup, or a simple taco like I did, with avocado, thinly sliced radish, a little cotija cheese and some chipotle tabasco. Yummy.

Comments

[TBone]

Do you recomend a little lamb in these tortillas?

[aja cupcake]

Tortilla press?! My grandmother is now rolling in her grave. Remind me to show you how to hand press those babies sometime.

[Elisa]

I am so hungry right now and wishing that you were making these tonight and had lots of extras and called me to come over. That is one terrible sentence coming from a teacher. I warned you I was hungry.