Norteña
Corn tortillas
TORTILLAS DE MAÍZ
Not Too Tricky
makes 19
About the recipe
Corn, for Mexicans, is the golden jewel of our cuisine – we eat it every day in different forms. For me, the tastiest and most versatile way to eat corn is by making corn tortillas; either to wrap food or use as cutlery.
Being totally honest, in Mexico, this is something that you buy fresh from a tortilleria (a tortilla shop that produces and sells freshly made tortillas). Here, they nixtamalize the corn and grind the nixtamal (corn kernels that have been cooked in a solution with limestone and water) to make the dough. This goes into a machine that presses the dough into round tortillas, before they are placed on a conveyor belt and cooked at speed. They make thousands a day! As a child, I was sent here to buy my family’s tortilla batch. I’ll never forget the smell of nixtamal in the
tortilleria; a warm nutty, tangy aroma reminiscent of oats. The tortillero would wrap my order either in paper or a towel. Before they did so, I would always pinch a tortilla and borrow the counter’s salt shaker, rolling myself a hot, salty one for the journey home.
I didn’t learn to make these before I moved to London and eventually grew tired of bringing tortillas back in my suitcase. I taught myself and even learnt how to make my own nixtamal. That, however, is a longer process, so the recipe below uses masa harina, or GMO-free corn flour, which still makes a perfect corn tortilla.
Recipe From
Ingredients
250g masa harina (GMO-free corn flour)
450ml warm water
EQUIPMENT
comal (flat griddle pan), non-stick frying pan or skillet
tortilla press
2 pieces of thick plastic
tortillera (tortilla basket, optional)
Top Tip
LEFTOVER LOVE
These tortillas can be stored in a zip-lock bag in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for a few months. To reheat, defrost on a worktop for around 2 hours before warming in a hot frying pan.
HANDY HINT
While you can make corn tortillas by hand – the traditional method in Mexico – investing in a good tortilla press is a great option to make the process quick, easy and enjoyable.
Method
- Place the comal or frying pan over a low heat to warm.
- Place the nixtamalized corn flour in a bowl and start adding the water, small amounts at a time. Mix well until well combined and there is no dry flour left in the bowl. The dough needs to be moist and just a bit softer than playdough consistency. If you end up adding too much water, add more flour – or if it is too dry, add more water. Once the dough is ready, cover with a dry, clean tea towel to prevent drying out.
- This flour does not need to be kneaded as much as wheat flour, as it is gluten free. As soon as the flour turns into a dough, it is ready to start working with. Weigh out a 35g amount and roll slightly smaller than a golf ball.
- Open the tortilla press and place one sheet of plastic on the base. Place the corn dough ball in the centre, pressing it slightly so that it sticks in place. Put the other sheet of plastic on top and close the tortilla press, squeezing slightly to form a small tortilla around 4mm thick. Open the press, flip the tortilla and press again until it is around 14cm in diameter and 2mm thick. Make sure that it is equal thickness all around, to cook evenly.
- Increase the heat under the pan. Peel off the top piece of plastic. Place the tortilla in the palm of your hand and carefully peel away the other plastic sheet. Turn the palm of your hand and carefully place the tortilla straight into the hot pan. Cook for 15 seconds over a high heat before flipping. Cook on the other side for around 15 seconds, then lower the heat and flip one last time until the tortilla starts to puff.
- When it has ballooned, remove from the heat and wrap in a tea towel to sit in your tortillera (tortilla basket) to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining dough to finish the batch.
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