Corn flour and water – the simple ingredients of one of the most delicious foods I have eaten – the corn tortilla. The corn tortilla is truly the bread of Mexico, and often the eating utensil as well. I’m not talking about the stuff sold in plastic bags in grocery stores, I’m talking about the freshly-made, hot-off-the-griddle deliciously simple corn tortilla, fragrant, tender to the teeth, sweet and savory and endlessly edible things you can make yourself, or buy from your local tortilleria if you are lucky enough to have one in your neighborhood.
Corn tortillas are the basis of tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, gorditas and all the Tex-Mex/Amer-Mex variations that have been invented. Fried in oil and salted, they make delicious chips. Fresh off the fire, they are marvelous by themselves, or spread with a bit of butter or salsa and salt. In your average Mexican city taco stand, you will find them stacked, covered with a cloth, and available to be wrapped around meat, beans, squash flowers, sauces, chopped vegetables – anything you want, fresh and tasty. When I was little and living in Mexico City, I would see the tortilleras, the old Mexican ladies, kneeling in their shops, patting out stacks of tortillas by hand, keeping two or more hot griddles going at a time. We would buy two or so kilos of tortillas, wrap them in our own napkins, and bring them home for dinner. I could never resist sneaking one or two of these freshly made tortillas and scarfing them down, plain, simple, hot and wonderful.
Although the ingredients are simple – corn flour and water – there is an art to making the proper tortilla. I was taught in nursery and primary school how to pat them out by hand, but if you don’t practice, this can be clumsy and time-consuming. You can buy a tortilla press at most cookery stores, but I prefer to roll them out by hand. The corn flour is available at all grocery stores, the best I have found is Quaker’s Masa Harina (literally “dough flour”).
You mix enough masa harina with enough water to make a dough that is soft, but not sticky, as you will be rolling or pressing the tortilla out in between layers of plastic wrap. You will also need a hot surface – cast iron is the best as it gets sufficiently hot and it does distribute heat well. Cut your pieces of plastic wrap – each about 8″ square, get your rolling pin (or large can of whatever) and heat up the cast iron griddle, and you are ready to start making tortillas.
Place a small ball of dough (about the size of a robin’s egg) in between the two sheets of plastic wrap, and roll it out into a circle, and thin enough – but not too thin to withstand being removed by hand and placed on the hot griddle. This will take you about six tries, and several corrections in the stiffness or wetness of the dough, but you will get it. Lay the flattened circle of dough on the hot surface and watch it carefully. When the edges start to get a little dark, lift one edge with a spatula or your fingers, and turn it over. This second turn will take longer.
A proper corn tortilla has two layers – the top layer very thin, the lower somewhat thicker. The space in between the two layers allows steam to cook the other layer and has much to do with the tenderness of a good tortilla, and it is the timing of the first and second turns that determines whether your tortilla has two layers. Don’t worry about brown spots – they are signs of a home-made tortilla! After the second turn, turn the tortilla a third time. This last turn will puff out the two layers, and the side that was on the griddle at the second turn will get “steamed” by the hot moist air inflating through it during the third turn.
The smell of cooking corn tortillas is miraculous. It awakens heavy sleepers, cures hangovers, and revives flagging appetites. It is nothing like the odor made by those grocery store corn patties when they are warming. It is the scent of Heaven, as far as I am concerned.
If you can stand it, take your hot corn tortilla and put it in a basket lined with a tea towel, and cover it, and put it in the warming oven, or better yet, cover it with the next corn tortilla you make! Freshly made corn tortillas are good for about 4-6 hours and can be reheated and still retain their character if you use them in that time. Otherwise they become tough and are good for teething babies or making tortilla soup, chilaquiles, or a multitude of other dishes.
But first, you have to have the simplest and best of foods – the corn tortilla.
Tags: Mexican food
17 Comments
I am lucky enough to have a tortilleria near by. 30 (warm) corn tortillas for $1.25, or I can get 8 oz. of chips for $1.25. Just outstanding!
Sounds like it requires manual dexterity…. uh oh.
I’m wondering if you could use tortillas instead of matzah…. unleaveaned is unleavened.
Thanks for this wonderful post, and recipe. I love “scarfing down” fresh tortillas, LOL, that’s a great expression…on a good day I guess I could scarf down 30…and look for the nearest sofa.
If you have a few good recipes for salsa, I’m in the market! Summer’s around the corner and we need to spice up life!
Here are some of my favorites:
Salsa Verde
1 1/2 lb tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 Jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
Salt to taste
1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.
2 Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, Jalapeño peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.
Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.
Makes 3 cups.
Salsa Cruda Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
• 3 large tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons diced purple onion
• 2 to 3 jalapeno or serrano chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients and stir well. Store in refrigerator for use within a day or two, or pureé in blender and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Serve with grilled chicken or fish, or along with burritos, tacos, or other Mexican style meals
A great all-round sauce (not really a salsa) is Adobo Sauce – it is used for enchiladas, cooking chicken, and any number of meat dishes.
Adob great sauce used for many dishes including Chicken Adobado.
INGREDIENTS:
• 8 guajillo chiles, dried
• 8 ancho chiles,dried
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 jalapeno, seedes and diced (optional for added heat)
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth (depending on meat used)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 cups of water
PREPARATION:
Add the water and half of the vinegar to a large pot.
Cut the tops off of the chiles and use a spoon to dislodge and shake out the seeds. Fry the chiles in hot oil for about 10 seconds on each side.
Add the chiles to the water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off heat and let soak overnight
Yazoo! I love the middle one, I think I’ll do that one first.Thanks for these, drchelo!
Here are some of my favorite salsas:
Salsa Verde
1 1/2 lb tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 Jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
Salt to taste
1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.
2 Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, Jalapeño peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.
Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.
Makes 3 cups.
INGREDIENTS:
• 3 large tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons diced purple onion
• 2 to 3 jalapeno or serrano chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients and stir well. Store in refrigerator for use within a day or two, or pureé in blender and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Serve with grilled chicken or fish, or along with burritos, tacos, or other Mexican style meals
A great sauce used for many dishes including Chicken Adobado.
INGREDIENTS:
• 8 guajillo chiles, dried
• 8 ancho chiles,dried
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 jalapeno, seedes and diced (optional for added heat)
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth (depending on meat used)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 cups of water
PREPARATION:
Add the water and half of the vinegar to a large pot.
Cut the tops off of the chiles and use a spoon to dislodge and shake out the seeds. Fry the chiles in hot oil for about 10 seconds on each side.
Add the chiles to the water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off heat and let soak overnight
Thank you, drchelo. A wonderful, enticing piece of food writing, followed by a very clear recipe. Can’t wait to try my own.
I love fresh, hot corn tortillas slathered with butter. It’s been a long time since I lived next to a restaurant that made their own, but I’ll admit, my eating out in other towns is governed by whether they have homemade corn tortillas. One of the best foods ever – thanks!
We pay 7 pesos for a kilo of hot tortillas. That’s about seventy cents. I love them with butter too.
Around two pm which is the dinner hour here the ladies and kids line up each with their special tea towel to purchase their tortillas. While waiting in line folks grab a hot one off the scale and enjoy it.
I found that my cleaning lady can eat a half of kilo with her lunch. I am only good for two or three and I am amazed at the amount she can eat with a bowl of chile.
7 cents a kilo? That’s a steal!
Another common sight at the market, is when a toddler starts acting up the cook just spreads a thin layer of frijoles on a tortilla and rolls it up tightly and the baby has an edible pacifier.
Mango – deep in the family scrapbooks are pictures of me as a teething toddler, gnawing away on a stale tortilla in one hand, and a slice of onion in the other.
See what happens when toddlers are pacified with tortillas?
Pretty sensible means of teething, if you ask me. Yummy, too.
The kids here seem very happy so it must be a good thing. We never see tantrums or spankings for that matter.
In Austin, I used to see lots of toddlers with a cold stick of cucumber in one hand and a rolled tortilla in the other.
As kids we used to get given a stick of proper licorice if we were wild!
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