Читать книгу Taste of Tucson - Jackie Alpers - Страница 35

In a large bowl, slowly add the ¹⁄2 cups warm water to the masa harina and combine using your hands or a rubber spatula. Knead the masa until no dried powder remains. The dough should be moist to the touch but not tacky, leaving bits of wet masa on your hand and fingers. Add salt to taste. Roll the dough into 1- to 2-inch balls. The exact portion size will depend on the size of your tortilla press. It may take some practice to get the balls the correct size.

Heat a lightly oiled nonstick or cast-iron frying pan or comal over medium-high heat.

Open the tortilla press and lay a piece of plastic wrap over the bottom half. Place a ball of dough on top. Lay another piece of plastic wrap on top of the ball and pull down the press handle to squish the ball flat. If the tortilla sticks to the plastic wrap, add a little more masa to the dough. Lift the bottom piece of plastic wrap with the tortilla on it. Flip the tortilla into the palm of your other hand and slowly peel off the plastic wrap. Then flip it over in the pan. Don’t do any of this with too much gusto. The raw tortillas tear and fold over easily.

Heat the tortilla for 30 seconds. Using your fingertips or a set of tongs, flip the tortilla. Cook for another 60 seconds. The tortilla will puff up a bit and turn slightly brown in spots. Remove from the heat, then move on to the next tortilla while you let the first one cool. Tortillas can be stacked and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week and reheated in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds on each side.

VARIATION: FLAVORED CORN TORTILLAS

Try experimenting with flavoring the tortillas by kneading ½ teaspoon of chile powder orotherspices into the prepared dough beforeshaping.

2 cups masa harina

¹⁄2 cups warm water (see note)

¹⁄2 teaspoon sea salt, or to tasteVegetable oil for pan

Corn Tortillas

MAKES ABOUT  TORTILLAS

Corn tortillas are usually 4 to 6 inches in diameter and easy to make. You will need masa harina, which is different from cornmeal or corn flour. Masa is flour that is made from dried corn that has been nixtamalized, or soaked in an alkalized lime solution (from limestone, not the fruit), before it is ground. Nixtamalization makes the corn more nutritious and pliable. Warm water to make the tortillas should be about 100°F, or the hot setting on your faucet, in order to begin blooming the natural flavor of the masa and to fully activate the small bits of pericarp (corn skin) in the masa flour, which help the masa bind naturally.

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Sonoran-Style Staples