Making tortillas (or fun in the kitchen)

Recipes: Corn tortillas, Red chile enchiladas with chicken and cheese

People have fun doing different things - I have fun in the kitchen. That's just me - maybe it's you too. Recently I bought a tortilla press. I love tortillas and food made with tortillas, and I wanted to try making my own.

Home made tortillas would taste fresher and be more tender than tortillas bought in a store - that's what I'd read. Wow, was that an understatement! And I could control what was in them - just masa (corn flour) and filtered water, no preservatives, no fat, no extraneous stuff. They were so easy to make, I have to admit I had a ball turning these things out. I can't imagine why I would ever buy store tortillas again.

When the tortillas were done (and we had eaten a couple hot off the griddle- yum!), I turned them into enchiladas. We had a feast!

Corn Tortillas

• 1-3/4 cup masa harina. This is Mexican corn flour (fine ground corn), and can be found in many grocery stores, especially Mexican stores, and online. A good brand that is somewhat widely available in the U.S. is Maseca. Or Bob's Red Mill brand is also good, if you're ordering online.
• 1 cup water (or filtered water, if you have it)

Measure the masa harina into a bowl and add the water. Mix and knead with your hands until thoroughly combined. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make a plastic shield for your tortilla press. When you look at the photo above closely, do you see the plastic sticking out aroung the edges of the press? I cut the top from a gallon size freezer baggy and then cut the two side edges open. The result was a double plastic square that was open on three sides. You can use this in your press to keep the raw tortilla dough from sticking. It works like a charm.

After 15 minutes, test your dough by pinching it with your fingers. If it is a little crumbly, which it probably will be, sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water over and knead it again just until the water is all mixed in. It should feel like firm cookie dough. Then make 12 balls out of the dough. This makes fairly small traditional tortillas. If you want to make them as large as your press, make 8 balls. From now on you will work with one ball at a time. Keep the others covered with plastic wrap until you're ready for them.

Prepare a basket or dish with a clean dish towel or cloth napkin to receive the finished hot tortillas.

Heat a griddle or a large frying pan on the stove, placing it a bit off-center on your burner so you have one side that is not quite as hot as the other. Take one ball of masa dough, place it in your plastic sleeve in the center of your press, and press it. Viola! You have a perfect little round tortilla. So sweet.

Peel the plastic carefully off the tortilla and flip it gently into the palm of your hand. Place it face down on the less hot side of the griddle. After 30 seconds, use a spatula to turn it over onto the hotter side. After 30 seconds, turn it over again, keeping it on the hot side of the griddle. It should start to puff a bit, and this is good. Encourage it by pressing it down gently with your spatula. After 30 seconds, remove it to your cloth-lined basket, covering it with one end of the cloth to keep it warm.

Continue until you have pressed and baked all the tortilla balls. Now for the enchiladas.

Red Chile Enchiladas with Chicken and Cheese

• 2 medium dried chiles, guajillo, poblano, whatever you choose
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and quartered
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 10 small fresh corn tortillas (because we had already eaten two, so we only had 10 left)
• Sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (like from a rotisserie chicken, or leftover cooked chicken)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded melting cheese, like Chihuahua, Monterey Jack, or cheddar
• Cilantro for garnish

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles, turning them over and pressing them with a spatula until aromatic. If they start to smoke even a little, quit, because they are burning. Add the toasted chiles to a blender jar. Add the garlic, tomatoes with their juice, cumin, and black pepper. Blend until as smooth as possible.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the blended sauce and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 7 minutes. Pour in the broth, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.

If your tortillas are not warm, i.e. just made, warm them to make them soft and pliable in a stack in the microwave, wrapped in a damp paper towel, for 10 seconds. Keep them covered with a cloth until you use them. If your tortillas are newly made, skip this step.

Taste the sauce and season with salt, usually about 3/4 teaspoon, and the sugar. Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a medium baking dish. Stir 1/3 cup sauce into the shredded chicken. Lay a warm tortilla in the baking dish, top with a portion of chicken, fold the tortilla over, and push it to the end of the dish or to the previous filled and folded tortilla. Continue this until you have used all the tortillas and all the chicken filling.

Ladle the remaining sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and begins to brown. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and you're ready for dinner. Enjoy!!

Tortilla soup (or keeping it spicy)

Recipe: Tortilla soup with all the trimmings

Fall is a perfect excuse for a hot provocative soup. Sunny days, raking leaves, dry chilly evenings, maybe a fire in the chiminea and a little candlelight. Soup, and especially soup with complexity and a spicy kick, sounds real good. It sounds warm and cuddly. It sounds like Life. Mmmmm.

Rick Bayless' book Mexican Everyday is an essential cookbook in any kitchen, in my opinion. It contains one of the best recipes for Tortilla Soup I've ever found. It's easy to make and, best of all, doesn't involve searching for too many unfamiliar ingredients. Here's an adaptation especially sized for two. You're gonna love it!

Tortilla Soup with All the Trimmings

• 1 medium dried pasilla (also called negro) chile*, stemmed and seeded
• 1 cup diced tomatoes in juice (canned OK)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced or chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 sprig fresh epazote** (optional)
• Salt
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 cup shredded melting cheese. Mexican cheeses are Chihuahua, quesadilla, or asadero. You can also use Monterey Jack, sharp cheddar, fontina, or even goat cheese (non-traditional but good).
• Tortilla chips, roughly broken up
• Lime wedges

*You can use other mild chiles, if you prefer. Ancho are good, or New Mexico. Smoky chipotle is good, but it will be more spicy. If you prefer to use a chile powder, use 1 tablespoon of it in place of the dried chiles and blend it with the tomatoes.
**Epazote is an herb common in Mexico, but not so easy to find here. It's easy to grow, though, and for that reason I have an epazote bush in my backyard. If you don't have it, don't worry. Your soup will be amazing anyway.

Toast the chile in a dry frying pan for a minute or two, or by holding an inch or two over and open flame. Break it into pieces and put it in a blender jar, along with the tomatoes and their juice.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and whole garlic and saute them until they are golden (6 or 7 minutes). Scoop them out with a slotted spoon, leaving as much oil as possible behind, and add them to the blender jar.

Process the ingredients in the blender jar until smooth.

In the same pan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. When it is hot, add the puree from the blender and stir constantly until it is thickened to the consistency of tomato paste. This will take about 6 minutes. Add the broth and epazote, if using, stirring well.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.

Just before serving, add the chicken to the simmering broth.

Divide the avocado, grated cheese, and tortilla chips between two soup plates. When the chicken is done (5 minutes) ladle the soup into the bowls (discard the epazote). Pass the lime separately to squeeze over the soup.

Hot tamale! It's a meal-in-a-bowl full of spicy love!
!Buen apetito!