Thursday, May 14, 2009

Homemade Tortillas with Chorizo/Shrimp & Mango Salsa

The idea for this came from a post on Culinate. You'll see why it caught my eye: "How 10 Tortillas Helped Me Believe in Myself: Yes, We Can."

The writer begins in complete unconfidence ("Someone is telling you 'no.' It’s a little voice in your head. It has been there for so long it’s indistinguishable from your true voice. No, you can’t do it.") And by the end she's twirling tortillas with one hand and babies with the other. The starting point I can definitely relate to - the ending, not so much.

But it did inspire me to give tortillas a try. Jack was a bit puzzled. You're going to make the tortillas? (Subtext: You're a total lunatic?)

It turned out to be a truly spectacular meal. We had some shrimp in the freezer, and Jack had brought some chorizo back from MA, and I decided that mango salsa couldn't be too hard (it wasn't).

The Recipe: Homemade Flour Tortillas
From the Homesick Texan. So much nicer than store-bought: light and poofy, with a lovely simple fresh taste. And really fun to make. (Would be good to do with kids, if you have them, and the time/energy.)

The Recipe: Mango Salsa
Adapted from How to Cook Everything (10th Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman

  • 2 cups firm but ripe mango [his was papaya], cut into 0.5-inch cubes
  • 0.5 cup diced red onion
  • 0.5 cup diced cucumber [he used red, yellow, or green bell pepper, or a combination]
  • 2 tbspn minced fresh chile, or hot red pepper flakes, to taste [I forgot this part]
  • 0.25 cup or more chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 tbspn olive oil
  • 3 tbspn freshly squeezed lime juice, or more to taste [i.e. 1.5-2 limes]
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4.

1) Put all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Let sit for about 5 mins, then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more chile, lime, or salt, as needed.

2) Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a couple of hours [we actually saved half for the next day, it was fine]. (Bring back to room temperature before serving.)

Thoughts/Tips/Mistakes

I was so sure that everything would go wrong that I actually got Jack to buy a packet of wraps from the store as a standby. But they weren't required.

Both the bloggers fell in love with their tortillas, and I know what they mean. You'll find your heart swelling with pride as the little things puff up in the pan.

We served them with sauteed shrimp and chorizo, some shredded lettuce, sliced avocado, sour cream, and the mango salsa of course.

We put the leftover tortillas in the fridge, wrapped tightly in plastic, and reheated next day as instructed, and they were almost as perfect.

Pix

Dough resting for first time:















Dough balls:















A tortilla:















In the pan:















On the plate - pretty, right?














3 comments:

Bob said...

That is so cool! I definitely trying it.

Yesica N. Cook said...

Thanks, Bob! They're really fun to do. (Homesick Texan's stuff looks good in general.)

jack said...

i could eat this multiple times a week, particularly in the summer. will have to stock up on portuguese chorizo!