Tortillas are soft, thin Mexican flatbreads made from finely ground flour (usually wheat). They are cheap and easy to prepare, and taste delicious! YIELD: 8 medium or 6 large tortillas
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons lard, oil, ghee or butter (warm to liquid form)
1/4 teaspoon white vinegar
METHOD:
1. Sift plain (all purpose) flour, salt and baking powder together.
2. Add warm water, lard (warmed to a liquid) and white vinegar.
3. Mix well.
4. Knead mixture for 1 minute until dough is smooth - add flour if the dough is too sticky, or add a little water if the dough is too dry.
5. Rest dough for 10 minutes.
6. Split dough mixture into 6-8 portions.
7. Roll out each portion of dough until thin and round with a floured rolling pin on a floured surface (or use a tortilla press).
8. Repeat with remaining dough portions.
9. Cook each tortilla over medium heat in an ungreased pan, cooking for 1 minute each side.
10. Cover cooked tortillas with a damp cloth and serve warm.
11. Store cooked tortillas in a plastic bag and consume within 7 days.
12. Cooked tortillas can also be frozen. Layer tortillas between baking paper, place them into a freezer bag and seal tightly. Freeze for up to 2 months.
13. Reheat thawed tortillas in a hot pan (ungreased) or wrap in a paper towel lightly sprayed with water and microwave until warm.
FLAVOUR IDEAS:
Blend vegetable puree and replace some of the water in the recipe with the juice i.e. 1/2 cup pureed spinach + 1/4 cup warm water instead of 3/4 cup of water. You can use fewer vegetables for a pale colour and mild flavour, or add extra for a more vivid colour. Some vegetables may need to be mixed with water to a thin smoothie consistency. Fresh or dried herbs and spices can also be added when mixing your tortilla dough.
- Wheat (use wholemeal flour)
- White (white flour)
- Wheat/white (use 50/50 of wholemeal and white flour)
- Multigrain (white flour + 1 tablespoon seeds)
- Quinoa (replace 1 1/2 cups plain flour with quinoa flour)
- Rye (replace 1 1/2 cups plain flour with 1 cup rye flour)
- Corn (use 2 cups masa harina, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 cups hot water instead of the other ingredients listed in the main recipe above)
- Corn/wheat (use 1 cup masa harina and 1 cup plain flour)
- Basil (add finely chopped fresh basil or sprinkle with dried basil when rolling out)
- Chia (add 1-2 tablespoons)
- Flax seed (add 1-2 tablespoons)
- Italian herb (add basil, oregano and parsley)
- Jalapeno cheddar (add dried jalapeno chilli flakes and finely grated cheddar cheese)
- Garlic herb (add garlic powder and your favourite dried herbs)
- Spinach (1/2 cup spinach puree + 1/4 cup water)
- Spinach & herb (1/2 cup spinach/oregano/parsley puree + 1/4 cup water)
- Sun-dried tomato (sun-dried tomatoes soaked in boiling water until soft, then blend and use 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato puree + 1/2 cup water
SERVING IDEAS:- Asparagus cigars
- Burritos
- Cannelloni
- Fajitas
- Guacamole ice-cream cones (tortilla semi-circles rolled into a cone shape, held together with toothpicks, bake until crisp and fill with guacamole)
- Huevos rancheros (corn tortillas topped with refried beans, Mexican-style rice, fried eggs, chilli sauce and slices of avocado or guacamole)
- Mexican lasagna (use tortillas instead of lasagna sheets)
- Migas (crispy tortilla with cheese, tomato, capsicum and eggs)
- Mini pizzas
- Nutella breakfast roll (spread Nutella evenly onto a tortilla wrap. Place peeled banana on one edge of the tortilla. Wrap the tortilla around the banana. Cut into 1 inch thick sections to make several rolls.
- Quesadilla (fill tortilla with cheese then grill)
- Quiche (tortilla crust)
- Moo shu pork
- Soft tacos
- Tortilla chips (baked)
- Tortilla chips/strips (cinnamon and sugar)
- Tortilla bowl, cinnamon sugar (baked)
- Tortilla bowl/cups
- Tortilla bowl taco salad (baked)
- Tortilla French toast
- Tortilla pizza
- Tortilla soup
- Tortilla wrapped hotdogs
- Tostadas (a fried corn tortilla, topped with refried beans, salsa, shredded cheese and other toppings)