D.I.Y. Delicious: Recipes and Ideas for Simple Food From Scratch (15 page)

You don’t really need a lot of the specialized equipment sold in kitchen stores. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to start a sourdough sponge from scratch, maintain it, and use it for a variety of breads, pancakes, and pizza. Create a customized granola that you’ll look forward to eating for breakfast every day. Enhance your meals with freshly made tortillas. Make better crackers than you could ever buy—for pennies.

Easy recipes for using your tortillas in enchiladas, quesadillas, and chilaquiles; sandwich ideas for your home-baked bread; seasonal pizza toppings; and hot cereals with alternative whole grains round out the chapter.

The traditional from-scratch way to make tortillas is to buy field corn, soak it in slaked lime, wash it thoroughly, and then grind it by hand into fresh masa. In an effort to make this recipe accessible to everyone, I’ve called for masa harina. It will yield tortillas that are vastly superior to grocery store tortillas for relatively little work. Masa harina is a flour made from dried masa. You can sometimes buy fresh masa made the traditional way from Latin American grocery stores. If you find fresh masa, make sure you get it plain, not preparada, which is for tamales. Also, check if it was made from masa harina. If it was, don’t bother. You may as well make your own. The Maseca brand is widely available and produces consistently good tortillas. I wish I could find a good organic or local brand of masa harina. I’ve tried a few other types and keep coming back to Maseca for its dependability
.

You will need a tortilla press and a heavy cast-iron skillet or comal. The metal tortilla presses are lightweight and affordable. Look in a Latin American grocery store or see our
sources
. Be sure to read the
Tips for Tortilla Success
before starting
.

TIME REQUIRED:
about 45 minutes active

YIELD:
twelve 6-inch tortillas

1½ cups masa harina

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium bowl, mix together the masa harina and salt. Add 1 cup of warm water and begin mixing with your hands. The dough should be moist and smooth, like Play-Doh. It should stick together easily when pressed but not be too wet. Add more water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Form the dough into 12 equal balls, about 1 ounce each. Lay them on a plate and cover them with a damp towel.

Get your tortilla press ready. Heat a cast-iron skillet or comal over medium-high heat. Pick up one of the masa balls and press it between your palms to flatten it slightly. Place it in the tortilla press between the plastic. Press the tortilla firmly, but not as far as the press will go. You will need to experiment with the proper thickness. Overly thick tortillas are harder to work with and can overpower a dish. Overly thin tortillas are difficult to peel off the plastic. The tortilla should be about 6 inches in diameter.

Gently peel the tortilla off the plastic and lay it carefully in the hot pan with a sweeping motion of the hand. Cook it for 45 seconds to 1 minute, and then flip it over with a spatula. It should have small brown spots and look dry, but not cracked. Cook the second side for 30 to 45 seconds. Flip again and lightly tap the surface of the tortilla all over 4 or 5 times with your fingertips. This creates tiny pockets that make for lighter, more delicious tortillas. Cook for 15 seconds more. Turn again and tap the other side, cooking for another 15 seconds. The tortilla should smell like toasty corn and have a dull surface. Nestle each tortilla in a clean towel-lined basket to keep warm. You should be able to get a rhythm going in which you are forming one tortilla while cooking another. You may need to adjust the heat under the skillet, now and then, while you work. Use the tortillas immediately or let them cool, wrap well, and refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for 2 months.

I use the method I learned from the Oaxacan women I worked with at the Jimtown Store in Healdsburg, California. They knew tricks that you won’t find on a bag of masa harina.

Please note that when adding water, the amount will vary with the weather conditions. I usually find that the package instructions don’t call for enough water. I end up using more or less equal parts water and masa harina.

Place a small bowl of water nearby to dip your hands in as you form the tortillas. It helps keep the masa from sticking and is a good way to work more water into the dough if it is too dry.

Don’t use plastic wrap to line your tortilla press, it’s too thin and difficult to work with. Use a produce bag or resealable bag, cut into one large sheet. It can be wiped off and reused until it tears.

This is a good use for your homemade Corn Tortillas and All-Purpose Red Chili Sauce. This dish can easily be made vegan if you omit the cheese garnish. You can also vary the vegetables however you like, using whatever’s in season. Corn, summer or winter squash, and greens with cheese or potatoes are all good candidates. Of course, you can always go traditional with shredded chicken or leftover
Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket
.

TIME REQUIRED:
30 minutes active; 40 minutes passive (excluding sauce, tortillas, cheese, and bean preparation)

YIELD:
4 to 6 servings

1 pound deep-orange sweet potatoes (such as Garnet), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1 recipe
All-Purpose Red Chili

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

12
Corn Tortillas

About 1 cup cooked pinto beans, drained (see
bean cooking tips
)

Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese
or store-bought feta or queso fresco for garnish (optional)

Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and cumin. Lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until browned and soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave the oven on.

Ladle
cup of the chili sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish large enough to accommodate 12 enchiladas (a 9-by-13-inch dish works well).

In a small, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, warm about ½ teaspoon of the vegetable oil. Add the tortillas one at a time, turning once to warm and soften them so they are pliable enough to roll, adding more oil as needed. If you are using freshly made, still-warm tortillas, you can skip this step.

Fill each tortilla with 1 heaping tablespoon of beans and 1 heaping tablespoon of sweet potato cubes. Roll and transfer it to the casserole dish, arranging each enchilada, seam-side down, on top of the sauce in a single layer. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, covering them completely and distributing it evenly. You may have leftover sweet potatoes. Sprinkle them over the top of the enchiladas or reserve them for use in one of the grain salads in the
Great Salad Toss-Up Guide
. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake until warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes.

Garnish each serving with fresh cheese (if using) and cilantro leaves.

Every culture has devised ways to use leftover staple grain products, as in the
Pain Perdu with Maple-Cinnamon Mascarpone
. In Italy, there are innumerable bread salads and soups; in Asia, it’s fried rice; in Mexico, it’s chilaquiles, usually served for breakfast. If you should find yourself in the enviable position of having leftover Corn Tortillas, there is no better use for them than this. This recipe provides basic quantities and technique, but it is within the spirit of the dish to vary it by using up little bits of odds and ends you have in your refrigerator, like cooked beans, leftover
Mustard and Bourbon–Glazed Pork Roast
, or
Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket
. You can also drizzle a little
Crème Fraîche
on the Chilaquiles as a garnish. Of course, you can also make this with store-bought tortillas, but the quantities are slightly different, as commercial tortillas are generally larger. These are lovely with
Hibiscus Tea
or
Horchata
.

TIME REQUIRED:
10 minutes active (excluding tortillas, salsa, and cheese preparation)

YIELD:
4 to 6 servings

8 large eggs

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

12
Corn Tortillas
, or 8 store-bought corn tortillas

cup vegetable oil, plus

1 teaspoon

½ red onion, thinly sliced

2 cups
Simple Tomato Salsa
or
Avocado-Tomatillo Salsa

2 to 3 ounces
Fresh Whole-Milk Soft Cheese
or store-bought feta or queso fresco for garnish

Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until smooth and add about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Stack the tortillas three or four high, and cut them into six to eight wedges.

In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, warm the
cup of the oil. Add the onion, and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften and brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the tortilla wedges. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are browned and crispy. Pour in the salsa. Be careful—it splatters. Stir to blend with the chips. Move the tortillas and salsa to one side of the pan, add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the empty side of the pan, and pour in the eggs. Scramble the eggs for a few minutes, until nearly cooked. Stir the eggs into the tortillas. Turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately, garnished with fresh cheese and cilantro.