Before we begin:
Tacos 5 De Mayo
7201 Annapolis Rd
Landover, MD
(301) 306-2074
7201 Annapolis Rd
Landover, MD
(301) 306-2074
GO. Try! Enjoy...
Ok, back to tortillas.
The basic recipe is corn meal/masa flour, water and salt. That was ok. Needed something extra though. So I spiced it up with some chipotle chile powder, a little extra salt and some pepper. Better. But the tortillas were dry and nearly crumbled. For a standard size batch (16 tortillas), I added 1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening. I also substituted in 1/2 a cup of regular white flour, to replace a 1/2 cup of corn meal. Next time, I might add a squige more shortening, regardless but the changes made a huge difference. The tortillas were pliable, had a little nice chew and weren't completely dry. To make them, mix everything together until combined and slightly tacky. Divide the dough into equal sized balls and press flat. I did buy a tortilla press, so that makes nice super easy. Toss in a dry pan or griddle on medium/medium-high for one minute per side. Keep warm and covered with a barely damp towel until ready to serve.
This is the first batch. Not too bad. The one on the bottom left...I was trying to make a pupusa with chicken and cheese...very messy.
I served my tortillas with grilled chicken thighs I marinated in orange juice, lime juice, salt, pepper, Ancho chili powder and cilantro for about an hour. A longer marinade time for next time, but still tasty.
The Chipotle chile powder adds a hint of redness to the tortillas. Two very hungry boys ate 8 tortillas before being stuffed to the gills. 
And my favorite part of the night. Putting it together. On the tortilla, I spread on some mashed avocado and lime juice. Then some diced tomato, chunks of the grilled chicken, cilantro and the fun part...totally unexpected, but it worked...was diced green apple! I wanted some jicama for crunch, but my store hasn't been selling any, so I thought I would sub in a tart, crisp apple. The sweetness of the apple was awesome against the smoky chicken and Chipotle chile in the tortilla and the texture was a nice treat with the creamy avocado and chewy tortilla. Very Happy!
I will do this again, many times over the coming summer I know...but I'm still going back to Obama Taco!
4 comments:
This post is making my mouth water.
This was definitely a fun experiment. I appreciated how quickly ScottE was able to make some tortillas. You could easily keep a bag of masa on hand just for purposes like this.
The green apple was fun! I do love my jicama, though.
Totally going to try this one...would have never thought to throw an apple on there! :)
Also, what is the best way to contact you? Wanted to give you the scoop on a foodie blogger event coming up that may be right up your alley. I can be reached at katherinej at zpr dot com.
-Katie
@Katie--the apple was a nice change of pace...juicy, crunchy and a little sweet. I would want a lot of it, but, diced nice and small and just sprinkled in...nice.
I'll try to email you offline. If I forget, my email is scotteichinger AT msn DOT com.
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