Put More Tortillas on Your Table
Put More Tortillas on Your Table
Ideas and hacks, plus some fun ways to use masa harina
That’s right. This is a challenge issued to all, in my quest to make every tortilla and chip that you eat a little better, and then to bring that same unparalleled corn flavor to dishes where it may not seem to have any business. At first.
Since I was raised in a California tortilla-eating culture, not a tortilla-making culture, today’s ideas and recipes are a mix of traditional and non-traditional techniques, both learned and invented. We're hoping this opens the door to some discussion about tortillas—and by extension masa and masa harina.
Think of this newsletter as a wee taste; no one will ask you to start mixing dough and pressing your own tortillas. (We’ll save that for another day; if you’re curious now, check this out!) But maybe after reading this, you’ll know just enough about masa harina–the flour used to make tortillas–to add a bag to your shopping list. And if you’re already a masa enthusiast, there might be something new for you here, too. The sections below will provide more details, including a bunch of links at the very end.
And with that, here we go:
Seared Vegetables with Tortilla Chip Crumbs
Bake-and-Break Oven-Fried Tortillas
DIY Fried Taco Shells
Masa Harina Slurries and Roux
Masa Flatbreads
Tortillas and Masa Out in The Wild
Seared Vegetables with Tortilla Chip Crumbs
Makes: 4 sides (or see below to turn this into main-dish portions)
Time: 40 minutes
You know how awesome Roman-style vegetables are–when you take cauliflower, artichokes, or broccoli, cook them seared and soft, and sprinkle with lots of fried breadcrumbs. Now imagine that with crushed tortilla chips. And let's say carrots; they're sweet and pretty. Ditto the choice of blue corn chips. You can always take a different path with, say, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, or even eggplant, and use white or yellow corn chips. Throw in some fresh or dried chiles and finish with cilantro and lime and we're clearly not in Rome, except the technique remains the same.
And just like cracker and potato chip crumbs (yes, I'm guilty!), tortilla chip crumbs work in all the same ways as breadcrumbs do.
To make this recipe more of a meal: Cook a pound or so of shrimp, or sliced squid or chicken on its own first; remove it from the pan; then follow the recipe and stir it back in with the crumbs at the end. Or add 4 to 8 ounces chopped smoked chorizo with the carrots and brown along with them. Or toss in 2 cups cooked (or 1 small can) drained giant limas or black beans along with the crumbs.
Ingredients:
2 cups store-bought tortilla chips
1 pound carrots
2 or 3 scallions
2 or 3 garlic cloves
1 small bunch cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup tequila or water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Crushed dried chiles to taste (I used chipotles)
Salt and pepper (or maybe not)
Instructions:
1. Crush the chips as fine or coarse as you want them. (I used the chip bag and meat pounder for an uneven grind; a food processor or blender will deliver finer, more even crumbs.) You should have about 1 cup and, as a bonus, they'll be seasoned, especially if you use the shake from the bottom of the bag.
2. Trim and scrub the carrots and peel them if you'd like. Slice them on the bias about 1/2-inch thick. Trim the scallions, separate the green and white parts and cut them the same way. Peel the garlic and slice thinly. Tear as many cilantro tender stems and leaves as you'd like for garnish and cut the limes into wedges.
3. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. When it's hot, add the carrots and cook, undisturbed until you start to smell them getting toasty, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until they sizzle and start to color in places, just a minute or so.
4. Add the tequila (or water) and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are easy to pierce with a fork and the liquid has bubbled away, 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Add the scallion greens, cumin, and chiles and stir until fragrant, less than a minute. Remove from the heat and toss as many of the chip crumbs as you want with the carrots. (Save any leftovers for later, but no judgment if you use all of them.) Taste and add salt and pepper if you'd like. Garnish with the cilantro and lime wedges and serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled like salad.
— Recipe developed by Kerri Conan
Bake-and-Break Oven-Fried Tortillas
Six reasons why you shouldn’t buy a bag of chips but make your own instead:
You decide what fresh corn or flour tortillas to eat as chips.
The level of work, attention, and cleanup is minimal.
You can make small or large batches.
They're never greasy.
You control the salt.
You control the crunch.
Ingredients:
Corn or flour tortillas
High-heat vegetable oil of your choice
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 350°F. (Which I've found to be the sweet spot for developing crunch without chewiness or over-browning.) Spread the tortillas out in a single layer with some overlapping. Dab with a high-heat vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil.) Wait to put them in until the oven is hot, then bake for 20 minutes before checking. No need to turn them, though you might want to rotate some if they're not cooking evenly. Then check every minute or so because they'll literally brown before your very eyes. And if you don't want the tortillas to color much at all, turn off the oven and let them crisp as it cools. Sprinkle with salt if you'd like, then get them off the pan right away to cool on a board, towel, plate, whatever. Serve whole or break into shards. Leftovers stay crisp in an airtight container for several days.