Corn Tortillas

It’s true, I’m back! I’ve been totally slammed, both at work and at home, lately and I honestly just cannot find the time to blog! It’s been killing me, especially seeing all the great pictures I have sitting on my hard drive. BUT, here I am with a quick post! I promise after our vacation (YAY!) I’ll be back to a more regular schedule. For now, please enjoy my new homemade obsession — corn tortillas!

It’s been over six months since we got our tortilla press, and for some unknown reason it took us this long (!) to put it to use. After our first use, we’re planning to see a lot more of this simple piece of kitchen equipment around the kitchen. There aren’t a ton of uses for corn tortillas, but we’re going to find as many as we can because these were uh-maz-ing. As with the flour tortillas I posted earlier this year (excuse the horrible picture), we were really surprised at how easy these were to make. Plus, they tasted a million times better than what you find in the store.

While making corn tortillas does require one special ingredient (and piece of kitchen equipment), it’s not too hard to find these days. We were able to find masa harina in our regular grocery store right with the flour. Even though this is an ingredient you’ll probably only use for Mexican cooking, it’s pretty inexpensive and worth the cost, even if only for corn tortillas (I promise you’ll make them more than once, anyway).

Corn Tortillas

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Makes: about 10 to 12 tortillas
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- about 1 1/3 cups warm water

Instructions:
In a small mixing bowl, combine the masa harina and salt, then slowly begin adding the water. Stir the mixture constantly with a fork until the dough comes together into a ball. Knead several times in the bowl until it forms a smooth dough (add more water if necessary), then roll into a two-inch thick log (like ice box cookies). Wrap the log in plastic wrap and let stand for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high high heat and prepare the tortilla press. Cover the bottom of the press with plastic wrap and cut an extra piece of wrap to place over the top of each tortilla before pressing.

To cook, cut the log into half-inch rounds, one at a time (keeping the rest of the dough covered), place on the tortilla press and cover with the extra piece of plastic wrap. Flatten the round to about 1/16 of an inch thick and carefully open the press and peel off the plastic. Toss the flattened tortilla onto the skillet/griddle. Cook for about one minute, or until you get a few light brown spots. Flip and cook another 30 seconds, pressing down on the tortilla with a spatula. As the tortillas are cooked, keep warm in a kitchen towel and serve immediately (they really are best when warm!).

Warm Corn Tortillas

We never really used corn tortillas until we started making the best ever fish tacos (thanks Ty Flo!), but I’m pretty sure that now we’re going to find many uses for them. These tortillas were absolutely amazing, especially right off the skillet. They were soft, but still had a nice crispness to them. They had a terrific corn flavor that I’ve never had with store-bought corn tortillas that I’m pretty convinced I can’t live without now. Lastly, they made great vehicles for our fish tacos! They folded up nicely and added such great flavor to the tacos that you just can’t beat.

I still can’t get over how easy these were to make, and I sure am glad that we got the big bag of masa harina because I can’t wait to make these again. I’m sure it’s possible to make these without a tortilla press, but having one really made it easy to flatten them out to the right thickness (plus, you can find a pretty cheap one at Target). If using a rolling pin, I would suggest putting the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to avoid sticking or cracking.

This was another Santa Fe School of Cooking recipe (from the Salsa and Tacos book). If you’re a fan of Mexican food, I highly recommend this book, it’s got a lot of great recipes plus it opens the door for lots of new ideas. And if you’re ever in the Santa Fe area, make sure to drop by the School of Cooking, they have a great store and offer lots of lessons and classes.