Corn tortillas
Corn is one of the most important ingredients in Mexican cuisine. Eaten almost every day in many different forms, the corn tortilla is probably the most popular. Perfect for making tacos, quesadilla or simply to accompany other dishes.
Making corn tortillas at home is not difficult, but can take a little practice to get perfect.
For this recipe you will need a tortilla press and plastic sheets for pressing, but if you don’t have one, use 2 heavy books instead.
Ingredients
- 200g/7oz nixtamalized corn flour (masa harina)
- 300ml/10fl oz warm water
Method
Place the nixtamalized corn flour in a large mixing bowl. Pour the warm water into the flour a little at a time, constantly mixing.
Mix well until the flour and water have combined fully, and a soft and moist dough has formed. There is no need to knead the dough for long or let it rest, as this is a gluten-free flour, so you can work with the dough as soon as it is done.
To make tortillas, separate the dough into 30g/1oz portions and roll them into little dough balls. Put them back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel, so they don’t dry out.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
Meanwhile, open the tortilla press, place one piece of plastic on the base, then put a dough ball in the centre and cover it with the other piece of plastic. Close the tortilla press and press gently to form a 2mm-thick tortilla.
Turn the heat up on the non-stick pan. Lift the tortilla from the press and gently peel the plastic off both sides (reserve them for the next tortilla).
Gently place the tortilla in the frying pan and cook for 15 seconds on both sides. When the tortilla puffs up fully, remove it from the frying pan.
Wrap the cooked tortilla in a clean tea towel to keep it warm.
Lower the heat on the frying pan, (so as not to burn the next tortilla), and continue with the process of pressing and cooking until all the dough balls have been used.
Recipe Tips
You can use large plastic food bags to make the plastic sheets used for pressing the tortilla. Simply cut one open at the seams to make two sheets. Cling film also works but isn't as durable.
