This week on Hive top chef the theme is tortillas.
Having spent quite a bit of time in Mexico including a 6 month stay, I developed a taste for corn tortillas. The ones that are in the grocery store are to me, a totally different thing. They're good but once you have fresh tortillas off the press from a little tortilla shop, you'll know the difference. I have no access to those shops here in Canada but I can easily buy masa flour for tortillas in all grocery stores around the neighbourhood.
For the quesadillas I am making, I will make corn tortillas for them, using a masa called "Maseca". This seems to be the most popular brand and I'm satisfied with it.
To make the tortillas I use 2 cups of masa harina corn tortilla flour. Add a teaspoon of salt and have 2 cups of hot water. Don't boil the water but have it nice and hot. This seems to be the most popular method.
It's important that you add the water slowly while mixing and kneading. Most recipes call for less water than flour but I usually end up adding more. This is why you have to add slowly while you mix. Make sure the dough is like play doh or modelling clay. Make sure it's smooth by kneading for five minutes or so. Add more water or flour to make sure it's not too dry or wet. It shouldn't stick to your hands or the plate and it shouldn't be cracking.
Tortilla dough
2 cups corn masa for tortillas
1 3/4 cups to 2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon salt
After kneading the dough, cover it with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let it sit for 10 minutes or more. I let mine sit for 30 minutes or an hour. This will help the flour absorb the moisture.
When the dough has rested divide them into around 12 balls the size of golf balls and knead each one then shape. Cover once more with a damp cloth while you get ready to press them into tortillas. You could do one or two at a time as well.
I happen to have a cheap tortilla press. This is light and perfect for someone who just occasionally makes tortillas. It cost around twenty dollars.
Before placing the ball on the press, just put a sheet of plastic on the bottom and one on top of the ball. I cut plastic from a freezer bag but I also use parchment paper for round cakes.
Gently press down to make sure it doesn't get too thin and break. If it's too thick you can press a little once more.
If you don't have a press you can use a plate and push down in the middle and roll a bit with a rolling pin. It's a bit more work but if you want a homemade tortilla and you don't have a press, you'll find a way. It's worth it.
After gently peeling the plastic off, you get a thin disc. If it's too thin it will break. Just roll it and try again. It's all about trial and error for me when it comes to making these.
I don't make tortillas very often but if I'm at home and want a taco, I make the tortillas rather than buy them. It is very simple but I have not yet been successful at getting them to puff to my liking. As far as I'm concerned the most important part is to have them inflate at least enough to get the hot air through the middle to cook properly. I'm in need of more practise to properly puff, but I'm still satisfied with the results.
For cooking the tortillas you need a pan that is non stick or a cast iron. I used a cast iron pan. It's fairly new and I haven't gotten used to how hot it gets compared to the non stick. I have to play with the temperatures. The most common temperature for making these, is medium high but like I mentioned it depends on your stove and your pan. I am still trying to figure out the perfect settings and timing.
For the first side I cooked it around 30 to 40 seconds. After flipping I cooked it for around 60 seconds.
After flipping it once more and tapping the the top o get the air flowing, it should puff up on it's own. That didn't work quite like I wanted but I did indeed get some puffing. This was good but I am determined to really puff it better one day.
It may not be a perfect puff but regardless, these tortillas are a lot better than the store bought ones hands down.
After making the tortillas I began to turn them into quesadillas. They were kept warm in a bowl and covered with a kitchen towel, with a lid on top. This is important to keep them moist and hot.
When we imagine quesadillas, we likely imagine flour tortillas folded with cheese and other ingredients inside. This is what you'll find in a typical roadhouse here in Canada. The traditional Mexican quesadilla will most likely be made from corn tortillas.
I am making a plant based quesadilla so I'm using black beans for a filling.
This is very simple and perfect for the filling if not using meat. I like to cook beans from scratch but there were cans of black beans on sale so I grabbed a bunch. It's convenient sometimes.
Bean filling
2 cans black beans rinsed and drained
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 diced tomato
3 hot green chilies
2 small habanero chilies
1 small handful of fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 or 2 limes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
Saute onions, garlic, and chilies in a pan.
Add seasonings and tomatoes.
Add beans and stir everything together.
After cooking down I mashed the beans roughly with a potato masher.
Set aside and get ready to fill the quesadillas.
For these quesadillas I used a plant based cheese that was store bought. It was a plant based ricotta. I normally don't care for store bought vegan cheeses but I like the creamy ones now and then. This one is to resemble a Mexican Queso Fresco which is a white soft cheese that I remember having in Mexico years ago. I remember it being salty so I crushed my vegan ricotta down to a crumble and added some salt and a squeeze of lime.
I decided that it was a must to use a cheese substitute for these quesadillas, since the word itself means little cheese thing. Queso means cheese so a quesadilla without cheese is really not a quesadilla. The tortillas are folded with the cheese melting inside holding it together.
In Mexico city it's not unsual to have a no cheese option with your quesadilla but to most Mexicans, this is not a quesadilla if it doesn't have cheese. I guess some people just want the taste of the meat and it's seasonings.
I spread the bean mixture on the top then sprinkled the cheese on top.
When I folded the tortillas I was happy they were nice and easy to fold and didn't break. This told me that I got them cooked pretty good even without the perfect puff.
Most flour tortillas are cooked on a hot dry griddle, but I decided to add some oil and slightly fry on each side to make them a little crispy. This is not the healthiest way but we don't have these often.
I cooked them until they were nice and golden.
I served them with a fresh salsa which can be done in minutes. This is simple and only a few ingredients but the taste takes me straight to the Acapulco bay in my mind. Years back when we went to a restaurant by the beach, we would always receive a bowl of tortilla chips and a fresh salsa. This can be referred to as "pico de gallo".
Fresh salsa
2 tomatoes
1/4 white onion finely chopped
2 or 3 jalapeno peppers
2 cloves minced garlic
Chopped cilantro
Salt
The juice of 2 limes or more
It's not necessary, but I decided to roughly blend everything except the onions together to combine the flavors. In the past my Mexican friends would make this and just chop everything fine then mix together.
I adjusted this to suit my taste. I like a lot of lime and the garlic is not always in fresh salsa but I like it. I made sure it was nice and salty as well. These few simple ingredients smell and taste like Mexico to me. It's one of my second homes.
This made one dozen quesadillas. I realized it wasn't enough. I like to have leftovers and after having only 3, there were none left. Marc had eaten all of the rest. I will double the recipe next time.
Although they were fairly small, I was quite surprised that he had nine of them. I haven't stopped teasing him for that.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
