Editor’s note: Hey-o! As part of my collaboration with Cooking Planit, the hubby (aka Gourmet Omnivore Husband) has agreed to share his tortilla-making expertise. That’s right — homemade tortillas. Hands off ladies; he’s taken.
Flour tortillas are a mainstay of southwestern cooking. At worst, a flour tortilla will be a capable conveyor of a tasty meal from plate to mouth, but at best, it is a meal in and of itself.
Growing up in Texas, my family would have our share of taco dinners, but — let’s face it — cooking in the ’80s generally meant buying a packet of 20 Mission tortillas. A kid may not know the difference, but as you get older, you will surely find better tortillas out there. I actually really enjoy Taco Cabana’s flour tortillas, for instance, in a pinch. If you are in a Trader Joe’s state, their “Real Handmade” tortillas are really top-notch, and in Texas, H-E-B makes a pretty darn good tortilla in their stores as well.
But, you probably aren’t on a cooking blog to learn where to buy stuff (though it may help). I haven’t been doing nearly as much cooking now that Lauren has dedicated herself full-time to domestic perfection,* but one thing I tackled this year was flour tortillas, and I am glad I did. For one, they are easy, cheap, and extremely delicious. For another – I learned how to use a rolling pin. Yay.
* Ed: I totally did not make him say that. Thanks, honey!
You can get the recipe for homemade tortilla goodness over at Cooking Planit, where it’s part of a delicious meal with spicy black bean soup.
Before you start on your tortillas, though, the most important thing to know is that you can keep these on hand in dough form easily enough (in the fridge for a day or so, or frozen for longer), so I would strongly recommend you always double the recipe.
Homemade tortillas are great as a complement to chili or beans, or as a wrapper for a tasty burrito, as Nora can attest.
If you have leftover dough — which if you doubled the recipe, you do — do yourself a favor and make some sort of tortilla dessert. My favorite is to make a sopapilla doppelgänger using the cast iron skillet. Put about 2 Tbsp butter in there and heat it until it is almost smoking. Make your tortilla but leave it a bit thicker (maybe 6 inches across). Toss it in. It’ll take a bit longer to cook since it is thicker, but have patience. When you flip it, sprinkle it with some cinnamon, sugar or nutmeg (or a combo). After removing from skillet, put some delicious honey on there. Oh yes. It won’t puff up like a sopapilla, but it will surely taste delicious.
