Want to make homemade tortillas for Cinco de Mayo?

Practice this weekend with this recipe from King Arthur Flour. They’re so much more authentic than the flat-pressed commercial versions.

Although traditionally made with lard, these tortillas are equally delicious using butter, shortening, or vegetable oil as the fat.

This is also a flour tortilla version. The originals were made with corn flour until wheat flour arrived with the Spanish in the 16th century. If you prefer a corn flour version, here’s a recipe and video from Mexican food specialist chef Rick Bayless, plus more about corn tortilla.

The resting period improves the texture of the dough by giving the flour time to absorb the water. It also gives the gluten time to relax, making the tortillas easier to roll out.

You may extend the resting, or skip it altogether if you don’t have the time—the recipe is pretty forgiving. The tortillas will roll out and stay thinner if you include the rest, though.

If there are leftovers, allow them to cool completely, then wrap them tightly in plastic and store them in the refrigerator. Reheat in an ungreased skillet, or for a few seconds in the microwave.

Prep time is 15 minutes, and cook time is 15 to 25 minutes.

> June 16th is National Tortilla Day.

> The different types of bread: a photo glossary.
 

RECIPE: HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Ingredients For 8 Eight-Inch Tortillas

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lard (or butter, or shortening; if you’re using vegetable oil, add it in step 3). Use your fingers or a pastry blender to work the fat into the flour until it disappears. Coating most of the flour with fat inhibits gluten formation, making the tortillas easier to roll out.

2. POUR in the lesser amount of hot water (plus the oil, if you’re using it), and stir briskly with a fork or whisk to bring the dough together into a shaggy mass. Stir in additional water as needed to bring the dough together.

3. TURN the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead briefly, just until the dough forms a ball. If the dough is very sticky, gradually add a bit more flour.

4. DIVIDE the dough into 8 pieces. Round the pieces into balls, flatten slightly, and allow them to rest, covered, for about 30 minutes. If you wish, coat each ball lightly in oil before covering it to ensure that the dough doesn’t dry out. While the dough rests…

5. PREHEAT an ungreased cast iron griddle or skillet over medium-high heat, about 400°F. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll into a round about 8″ in diameter. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Fry the tortilla in the ungreased pan for about 30 seconds on each side.

6. WRAP the tortillas in a clean cloth when they come off the griddle, to keep them pliable. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
 
 
TORTILLA HISTORY

The mainstay of the Mexican diet was and still is, the corn* tortilla, made with indigenous corn from prehistoric times. Excavations in the valley of Valle de Tehuac, in Sierra Mountains in the state of Puebla, date their use to more than seven thousand years [source].

[2] The best flour makes a different.

[3] “Women Grinding Maize” by Diego Rivera (photos #3 and #4 of paintings courtesy Diego Rivera Foundation).

[4] “Tortilla-Maker” by Diego Rivera.

The corn used was a very small wild cob (that was bred, by 3000 B.C.E., into the large ears we know today), ground corn foods, along with roots and fruits plus hunting, comprised the diet.

The cooking process is little changed today. Corn kernels are cooked with lime to remove the husk (known as nixtamalization), then ground on a stone slab with a grinding stone (photo #3). The dough is formed into small round balls that make the individual tortillas, and patted out by hand into thin round cakes (photo #4), and cooked over a fire (today, homemade versions use a skillet on a stove top).

For tamales, the cake is placed in an unbaked tortilla, filled, and wrapped in a corn husk for cooking.

When Hernan Cortez and his conquistadors arrived in the New World in 1519, they discovered that flat cornbreads were a staple Aztec food. In the Aztec’s Nahuatl language, the word for them was tlaxcalli (pronounced tih-lax-CAH-leee. The Spanish gave them the name tortilla.

Technology arrived centuries later, in the 1940s when the use of small gas engines and electric motors became widespread to power grinders for making masa (the ground corn). A hand press became used to form the masa into tortillas.
 
By the 1960s, small-scale tortilla-making machines could churn out hot, steaming tortillas every two seconds—quite a change from the hours they took to make before modern times.
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*Wheat flour only arrived in the 16th century, with the Conquistadors, and became popular in Mexican/U.S. border cooking. By the time Spaniards reached the shores of what is now Mexico in the 1400s, indigenous Mesoamericans had a sophisticated and flavorful cuisine based on native fruits, game, cultivated beans and corn, and domesticated turkeys.
 
 

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We found this spring salad bouquet recipe (photo #1) on the social media pages of the New York City outpost of Catch seafood restaurant (a charming spot with a roof deck for alfresco dining).

The salad is no longer on the menu, but it looked so festive we had to make it for ourselves. There are two spring salad dressings below: basil vinaigrette and blood orange vinaigrette.
 
 
SPRING SALAD INGREDIENTS

 
It’s topped with zigzags of ranch dressing.

We preferred tossing it with a sprightly vinaigrette.
 
 
More To Add To Your Spring Salad Bouquet

 
 
SPRING SALAD VINAIGRETTE RECIPES
 
RECIPE #1: BASIL VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients

[2] Fiddlehead ferns (photo by Katharine Pollak | © THE NIBBLE).

[3] Chioggia beets (photo © True Food Kitchen).

 
Combine all ingredients. To emulsify so they don’t separate, use a blender or an Aerolatte Milk Frother.
 
 

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[1] Hand pies plated as a gourmet dessert at Sirena Cocina Latina in San Diego (alas, now closed). [2] Use cutters to make prettier pies, and crimp the edges with a fork (here’s the recipe from Driscoll’s Berries). [3] A ham, brie and fig jam hand pie with grainy mustard sauce (here’s the recipe from Cooking On The Front Burner).

Like pie? Like savory pie? Like fancy desserts?

Combine the two with plated hand pies. The pies, meant to be eaten without plate or fork, taste even better with a bit of glamour.

Sweet Hand Pies

Restaurant Sirena Cocina Latina in San Diego plated fruit pies with dessert garnishes (photo #1):

 
Savory Hand Pies

For an appetizer or first course, you can make meat, cheese or vegetable hand pies—or any variation combination (photo #3).

Choose savory garnishes:

 
TIP: Sweet or savory, use your cutters to create a shape at the top of the pie (photo #2).
 
 
THE HISTORY OF HAND PIES

Since there was dough, something to fill it with, and something to bake it on or in, there have been hand pies—beginning with savory pies.

Cultures around the world have what we now call hand pies: portable meals that could be stuffed with leftovers or any variety of kitchen ingredients. Empanadas, a popular Mexican street food, Jewish knishes and and Jamaican meat patties are hand pies.

Until someone in the U.S. called them hand pies (if you know who, raise your hand), these grab-and-go mini-meals were called meat pies or pasties (rhymes with nasty, not tasty).

In our own culture, they trace their origins at least to 19th-century England, where they were a convenient lunch for Cornish tin miners—but not as we eat pasties today.

For miners, the pastry casing kept the filling warm and dirt-free. Holding the edges, miners would eat the filling and discard the dough.

Cornish immigrants to northern Michigan brought the tradition to the U.S. [source] The concept engendered fruit versions among America’s home pie bakers, and corner sweet shops sold them to enthusiastic fans.

They’re portable, requiring no plate or fork, and can sit in the heat without melting. Give us a good crust, and we’re in!
  

While there are numerous regional variations of this traditional Mexican breakfast or brunch dish, the basic recipe tops quartered, fried corn tortillas with salsa or mole sauce, and crowned with fried eggs.

Pulled chicken can be added; the dish is topped with shredded queso fresco and/or crema, Mexican sour cream. Sliced raw onion, avocado, or other garnish can be added. A side of refried beans typically completes the dish, which you can see in this recipe.

Chef Adrianne Calvo of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar in Miami sent us her own twist on the recipe. Forget the pulled chicken: She uses beef short ribs.

We’ve broken her recipe into three separate ones since you can use each in combination with other ingredients and dishes.

The history of chilaquiles is below.
 
 
RECIPE #1: SHORT RIB CHILAQUILES

With Queso Fundido & Pickled Red Onion

Prep time is 10 minutes; bake time is 2 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 50 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 2 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325F. In a small bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

2. WHISK together the agave, garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper in another small bowl. Sprinkle the ribs on both sides with the salt mixture, then place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

3. BAKE the ribs for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Pull out and brush both sides with some of the agave glaze and bake for an additional hour. Remove the foil, brush with the remaining agave glaze, and bake for another 20 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE #2: GREEN CHILE QUESO FUNDIDO*

Ingredients

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*Oaxaca cheese, pronounced wah-HOCK-a, is called the Mexican mozzarella.” It can be purchased in a ball or a braid. Fundido, the Spanish word for molten, refers to melted cheese.

†The quick substitution here are tortilla chips or strips. It’s not authentic, but it works.
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Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 450°F. Combine the jalapeño, onion, garlic, vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, salt, honey, and oil in a blender and set aside.

2. BAKE the cheese in a small ovenproof dish for 15 minutes or until bubbling.
 
 
RECIPE #3: PICKLED RED ONIONS

You may want to make quadruple the recipe: These pickled onions are a delicious garnish for just about anything.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING the ingredients to a boil in a small pot, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5-7 minutes.

[1] Short rib chilaquiles (photo ©Chef Adrianne Calvo).

[2] Raw short ribs (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Oaxaca cheese (photo © Cheese.com).

[4] Traditional chilaquiles (photo © Avocados From Mexico).

[5] Pickled red onion (photo © Inspired Taste).

[6] Fresh cilantro: the perfect garnish for almost every Mexican dish (photo © Good Eggs).

The name derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word chilaquilitl, meaning herbs (or greens) in chili broth.

A traditional Mexican peasant dish, it provided a way to use stale corn tortillas, a staple food of Central America which are fried as the base of the dish. Chiles, too, were native to the area and readily available.

The simplest form of chilaquiles is simply topped with salsa to soften them somewhat prior to eating: an easy way to fill the stomach. Their cultural significance is as a versatile staple for peasants [source].

As the dish evolved, it incorporated inexpensive ingredients, including leftovers, to make it a main dish: bits of meat, cheese, or eggs.

As with most dishes, there are regional versions: in sauce (green, red, white sauce), in protein (cheese, chicken, pork, shrimp), garnishes (avocado, beans, cheese, onion, radishes), seasonings, and spiciness (epazote, hot chiles), consistency and so on.

Mexico City is known for using a spicy tomato sauce and always tops each serving with an ample sprig of cilantro.

While the dish may be centuries old in Mexico, the first published recipes found in the U.S. are from a cookbook dating to 1898: El Cocinero Español (The Spanish Cook), by Encarnación Pinedo [source].
 
 

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