In The Kitchen… Corn Tortillas & Beans
How many kitchen tools and gadgets are lurking in your cupboards and drawers? Do you use them all on a regular basis? Or do many of them take up space just because you might need them some day? Do you have some kitchen clutter that you got as a gift, maybe when you got married! And have never used?
Seriously. Capitalistic enterprise spawns many stupid ideas, and the kitchen gadget industry seems especially to attract crazy inventions. Late night TV is a particularly hazardous source of totally useless junk.
Do you have a fondue pot hiding somewhere? Have you used it, or is it still in its original box? Do you own a banana slicer? Or a strawberry corer? Yes. These actually exist. I once watched Kitchen Goddess Rachel Ray as she waxed enthusiastic over a little widget that would make hard boiled eggs square. Like, you know, so the egg slices would fit perfectly onto little squares of bread.
I use a few of the same basic tools constantly, such as my collection of cast iron skillets, good knives and one favorite little vintage spatula. But I have lots of stuff that “might come in handy some day” that I have not used in years. Indeed, I am usually surprised when I come across it again, having forgotten I even owned it!
But I also have some unique gadgets that I don’t use often but that are darned handy to have around when I need ‘em.
The Tortilla Press
Mexican food is one of my favorite cuisines. I love corn tortilla wraps… they have such an earthy and distinctive flavor. However, corn tortillas are not available at our local village grocery stores. There are some corn & wheat flour combination tortillas available in larger supermarkets, but they are full of chemical additives and preservatives. Corn torts should contain corn flour, lime, salt & water.
Some months back I embarked on a mission to make corn tortillas. This calls for a special type of corn flour called “Masa Harina.” This stuff is finely ground corn flour that has been treated with a lime solution. You can’t make corn torts with regular corn flour, trust me on this, I speak from personal experience!
Fortunately, masa harina is available at the fabulous Scoop & Save market in Fredericton, where all kinds of exotic goodies can be found. “Bread of Life” in Presque Isle, Maine also stocks it. Once I had my hands on some masa harina, I thought I’d be whipping up a batch of corn tortillas pronto.
Uh, not so fast cowgirl! The instructions said to roll them out between two pieces of plastic. I attempted to use wax paper, and I
rolled them out manually with a rolling pin. The torts stuck to the paper and broke up when I tried to peel them off, rolling them out by hand was a time-consuming chore, and my end result was a totally unusable mess.
The next time I was at Scoop & , Save I bit the bullet and purchased a shiny new tortilla press. I had also learned from my waxed paper debacle and used two squares of thick plastic film for mty next tortilla project.
This next batch of torts was going to succeed or I was going to die trying.
Mirabile dictu! That tortilla press works like a dream. However, full disclosure compels me to tell you that making tortillas by hand is still a fairly time consuming project. After you mix up the dough, you make walnut sized balls and set them aside, covered so they don’t dry out, while you simultaneously man the press and the skillet. It takes me about 35 minutes to make 18 tortillas, from mixing the dough to cooking the torts o the griddle.
Using the two sheets of plastic to keep the dough from sticking to the press you slap a dough ball in place, lower the plate, press on the clamp and presto! A perfect tortilla is born. Then you gently, so as not to break it, peel it off the plastic and into the hot, dry iron skillet. When the dough starts to puff up a bit from the heat, you flip it and cook the other side.
If you want to fry them for tacos they need to be allowed to cool off first. They are very tasty, but they do not fry up quite as crisp as commercial corn tortillas.
I just recently made some delicious, nutritious vegetarian bean tostados with homemade refritos.
For the refried beans:
Pick over & wash 2 cups of pinto beans. (or use black beans if you like) You can soak these overnight to cut down on the cooking time, or you can bring to a boil then cover and turn off the heat and let them pre-soak that way for an hour. But I find they’ll cook up fine if I just throw them in a pot with water to cover generously and simmer them for a couple of hours. Make sure they do not boil dry….you can always drain excess water but you sure can’t undo scorched beans!
When your beans are nice and tender and the skins are bursting sauté a chopped onion in a generous glug of olive oil, about a quarter of a cup, in a skillet. When the onion is translucent and brown at the edges add a clove or three of minced garlic and sauté a few minutes more. You can add a bit of chopped jalapeno too, if you like.
Your beans should be fairly thick before you add them to the vegetables….not soupy, but still quite moist. If there is too much water, drain it off but save it in case you need to add a bit back. Put the beans in with the onions and garlic and smash it all up a bit with a potato masher. Add salt & pepper to taste. This is why this dish is called refritos, or refried beans.
These beans are delicious as a hot side dish, topped with shredded cheese if you like. They are good with eggs for breakfast, and rolled up in a wrap with whatever additions you like.
To make Bean Tostadas:
Fry corn tortillas in hot oil until crisp, let them cook flat. I use an 8” cast iron skillet with about half an inch of oil in it. Top with hot beans, cheese, sliced avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, diced onion and a dollop of sour cream if you like. Don’t forget the salsa and enjoy!
