Mexican flatbread: cooking secrets, recipes for fillings. How to cook tortilla Tortilla recipe at home

To this day, tortillas are very popular. They are used throughout Mexico as bread, often serving as a fork and spoon for eating meat and scooping sauce, for example for chili con carne. They are also filled with all sorts of fillings and become the basis for such world-famous dishes as enchiladas, tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. Dried tortillas are often served as chips, as a side dish or to thicken soups. In modern cooking, there are several options for how to prepare tortillas, and I present to your attention one of the classic tortilla recipes.

For preparation, I use corn flour and a little wheat flour for better plasticity of the dough when rolling. I add butter so that the baked goods do not harden so quickly. However, you can easily use vegetable oil (4 tbsp), especially during fasting or due to your dietary needs. The main thing to remember is that corn tortillas quickly become brittle and crispy, so it is better to eat them piping hot, as the Mexicans do, or store them in a tightly wrapped plastic bag. In general, the preparation is not at all difficult, proceed as described in the recipe with the photo, and you will certainly succeed!

Cooking time: 15 minutes / Number of servings 8

Ingredients

• corn flour 2.5 cups
• wheat flour 0.5 cups
• cold water 1–1.5 cups
• butter 50 g
• salt 1 tsp. without top

Note: 1 glass = 200 ml

Preparation

In a deep bowl I combined wheat and corn flour. Added salt and a piece of butter, softened to room temperature. Using a knife, finely chop the butter, thus combining it with the flour. If you don't feel comfortable working in a bowl, you can knead the dough on a board.



Gradually added cold raw water and mixed the dough with a spoon. At first it clumped, turning into crumbly crumbs.



But as soon as the full amount of water was added, it became elastic. You can regulate the amount of liquid yourself - the dough should be pliable and soft, not clogged, and not stick to your hands at all. This time I used exactly 1 glass of water. Cover the dough ball with a napkin and let it rest for 30 minutes.



Then I divided it into 8 parts the size of a chicken egg.



I poured it into cakes and rolled each one out to fit the size of the pan. It is most convenient to roll out the dough between two pieces of cling film sprinkled with flour, then it will not stick at all to either the work surface or the rolling pin.



The result was thin cakes approximately 2 mm thick.



Fry it in a dry frying pan. First, on one side for a couple of minutes, until characteristic bubbles appear on the surface.



And then baked the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.

As they cooked, I stacked the hot tortillas and covered them with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out. For longer storage, you can put them in a bag and then reheat them in the microwave as needed. Best served with Mexican dishes and hot sauces.

Just recently, Mexican cuisine was a distant exotic for us. Today, national dishes of Mexico can not only be found in various cafes and restaurants, but can also be easily prepared at home. And many of them are based on tortilla flatbreads.

Basic principles for making Mexican tortillas

These flatbreads are baked from two types of flour: corn or wheat, as well as from a mixture of both. The traditional recipe is based on special corn flour. It produces elastic dough. It’s difficult to find such flour here, and it’s difficult to work with regular corn dough. Therefore, at home it is easier to bake tortillas from white flour or use corn and wheat flour one to one. The recipe also includes water, salt, butter or vegetable oil.

In Mexico, tortilla is the basis of many dishes. Various fillings are wrapped in it, added in pieces to soup, used instead of cutlery, scooping up sauce with such a flatbread, for example. Traditional filling components are meat or chicken, tomatoes, beans, hot and sweet peppers, cheese, and corn.

Mexican Tortilla Flatbread - Basic Corn Flour Recipe

Ingredients

A glass of corn flour;

half a glass of wheat flour;

a pinch of salt;

a glass of hot water.

Cooking method

Pour corn flour into a bowl, add wheat flour, add salt.

Pour hot water. Knead, adding water or flour as necessary - we need to get a thick dough. We cut it into a dozen pieces. We roll everyone into a ball. Place the bun of dough on a sheet of parchment, cover it with a second one on top and roll it out with a rolling pin into a thin flat cake.

We do not lubricate the pan with anything. Fry quickly until golden. Don't let the tortillas burn, and don't overdry them either. Prepared corn tortillas can be used in a variety of Mexican dishes or simply as bread with soups and salads.

Mexican tortillas - basic recipe made from wheat flour

Ingredients

Two glasses of wheat flour;

a teaspoon of salt;

a quarter stick of butter;

half a glass of warm water.

Cooking method

The flour needs to be sifted. Then add butter to it and start rubbing it with your hands. The end result will be crumbs.

Put it in a bowl, cover it, put it in a warm place, where it will sit for half an hour.

Divide the settled dough into eight equal pieces. Let's form each one into a ball. Roll it out. The blanks should be about two millimeters thick.

Heat the pan properly. No oil is needed, dry fry the tortillas. A minute or two on one side is enough, the same on the other.

Mexican tortilla burrito

A simple and satisfying dish, essentially a type of fast food. As a filling, you can take chicken, finely chopped beef or minced meat with the addition of beans, sweet and hot peppers, onions, tomatoes, and garlic. The spiciness characteristic of Mexican cuisine can be adjusted to your taste, for example, by not adding chili.

Ingredients

300 grams of meat (beef);

two cloves of garlic;

200 grams of canned beans;

one sweet pepper;

two tomatoes;

green chili pod;

bulb;

cheese - eight slices;

tortillas - four pieces;

½ teaspoon coriander (grind);

fresh cilantro;

50 ml vegetable oil.

Cooking method

Finely chop the beef. You should also cut onions, chili, garlic, tomatoes, and sweet peppers into small pieces.

We simmer the pieces of meat until soft, after lightly frying them in vegetable oil. If necessary, add a little water and salt.

When the beef is ready, remove it to a plate and set it aside for now.

There will be juice left in the pan after the meat. First fry the onion in it. Then add peppers - hot and sweet. Fry for a couple more minutes.

Now return the meat to the pan, season with garlic and ground coriander. After a couple of minutes, the tomatoes go there.

Take the beans out of the jar and mash them a little with a fork. Add to the rest of the filling. All that remains is to add finely chopped cilantro and put out the fire.

Heat the flatbreads a little in a frying pan without oil. You can form a burrito: put two slices of cheese, top with the filling, still hot. Wrap it with a roll, quite tightly. You can serve! A traditional Mexican sauce, salsa, goes well with a burrito.

Mexican tortilla enchilada

For this dish, the meat filling is also wrapped in a flatbread, but then the resulting rolls are also baked with a delicious sauce.

Ingredients

Half a bell pepper;

one fresh tomato;

100 grams of canned tomatoes (in their own juice);

two cloves of garlic;

bulb;

five tortillas;

250 grams of chicken breast;

chili pepper - optional;

70 grams of cheese.

Cooking method

Cook the chicken meat until done.

Let's make the sauce for now. We cut the tomato, onion, garlic, pepper, lightly fry them in a frying pan with the addition of vegetable oil, and add canned tomatoes there.

Cover with a lid. Simmer for about seven minutes. Now you can add salt. If you are using chili, now is the time to add it. Using a blender, we turn our vegetables into a thick sauce.

Cut the boiled chicken fillet into cubes. Mix it with part of the sauce. Distribute this filling among the flatbreads and roll each one into a roll. Transfer to a suitable form, top with sauce and grated cheese. It's time to put it in the oven - 180 degrees, until beautifully golden brown. This dish is best eaten hot.

Mexican tortilla quesadilla

This appetizer is also very simple to prepare - a meat or vegetable filling is placed between two flatbreads, always with cheese. Then the dish is fried until golden brown, cut into pieces and served with sauce.

Ingredients

Ten tortillas;

two bell peppers;

a few cloves of garlic (to taste);

one chicken breast;

canned corn - can;

200 grams of cheese (hard varieties);

Cooking method

Marinate the chicken fillet. To do this, cut the meat very finely, add salt and paprika, chopped garlic. Let it sit for an hour so that the chicken is soaked in spices. Then fry in olive oil.

Also chop the pepper very finely and add it to the chicken. We will also send the corn there, having first drained all the liquid from it. Let's put it out for ten minutes. Turn off and cool slightly. Mix with grated cheese.

Take a second frying pan and add a little oil. Place the tortilla. We distribute the filling over its entire surface. On top is the second flatbread. Fry on both sides. The cheese will melt and bind the two tortillas together. Cut the finished dish into four parts and serve with sour cream.

Mexican tortilla nachos

For nachos, which are triangular chips with various hot and spicy additives, we will need corn tortillas. You can bake them following the recipe, or purchase ready-made ones. And turning tortillas into nachos isn't too difficult.

Ingredients

Six to seven tortillas;

50 grams of cheese;

3-4 tbsp vegetable oil;

dried onions and garlic - one teaspoon each;

ground coriander, hot pepper - to taste;

a dozen olives or black olives;

two teaspoons of paprika;

Cooking method

Combine the oil with spices: ground dried onions and garlic, coriander, paprika. We coat the flatbreads well on each side with this aromatic oil. Cut into triangular pieces.

Place them on a baking sheet, salt them and put them in the oven. 200 degrees, keep it for a short time, just a few minutes, once it’s browned, take it out.

We got corn chips. While they are still warm, sprinkle grated cheese on top, you can also add small pieces of olives, chili peppers, and fresh herbs. You can serve nachos with different sauces to suit your taste.

Chimichanga made from Mexican tortillas

This snack is reminiscent of a burrito, with the same hot and spicy filling wrapped in a tortilla. The difference is that the resulting rolls are additionally fried in vegetable oil.

Ingredients

Three chicken fillets;

six tortillas;

chili sauce - two tablespoons;

red and black pepper (ground);

one red and one green bell pepper;

vegetable oil;

one onion.

Cooking method

We cut the meat into fairly small pieces. Fry it until done. Season with salt, pepper and chili sauce as you go.

Cut the onion into half rings and the peppers into thin strips. Add them to the chicken. Fry everything together for a few minutes and keep it on low heat for another five to seven minutes. Then let the filling cool slightly.

Place a portion of the filling on each flatbread and roll up the envelopes. Now all that remains is to fry them in hot vegetable oil, we need a beautiful golden brown crust. Can be served with spicy tomato sauce.

Mexican tortillas - secrets and tricks

Prepared tortillas are best eaten immediately, hot, but can also be stored in the refrigerator. To do this, they need to be wrapped in cling film and placed in the freezer. Then simply reheat the tortillas in the oven before using. You can also fry them again in a frying pan.

Don't fry the tortillas for too long - no more than a minute on one side. Otherwise they will be too dry and may burn quickly.

Spicy is a must for dishes using Mexican tortillas. To make them especially hot, spices are added not only to the filling, but the flatbread itself can also be pre-sprinkled with ground red pepper.

Tortillas are flatbreads characteristic of Mexican, American and Spanish cuisine. They are especially common in Spain and Mexico, where they are among the main national dishes. Mexicans wrap various fillings in tortillas, serve them instead of bread, and even use them instead of spoons to scoop up thick soup or sauce. The classic Spanish tortilla is made from potatoes. In Mexico, the classic recipe uses cornmeal as a base. Each of these recipes has several variations. There are also recipes that use wheat flour as the basis.

Cooking features

Traditionally, tortillas were made from unleavened dough, but today the most popular are tortillas made from flour or potatoes with the addition of ingredients such as butter and chicken eggs. Today these recipes are considered classic. It’s so easy to prepare tortillas using them that an efficient housewife can treat family members with them every day. Knowing a few important points will make her job much easier and help her prepare truly delicious tortillas.

• Even if, following tradition, you used corn flour as the basis for making tortillas, it doesn’t hurt to add a little wheat flour to it, which will increase the stickiness of the dough and make the tortillas a little more tender.
• If you didn't take out the butter in advance and it hasn't had time to soften, you can grate it.
• Instead of butter, you can use margarine, then the corn tortilla will be lean and suitable for a vegetarian table.
• The dough prepared for tortillas should “rest” after kneading, then the tortillas will turn out more tender.
• To prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin when rolling, place it between two layers of cling film sprinkled with flour.
• You need to fry the tortillas in a dry frying pan on both sides. It usually takes about a minute to brown the tortilla on one side. It is better not to exceed this time, otherwise the cakes may turn out too dry and brittle.
• To prevent the cakes from drying out, they can be lined with wet wipes.
• If you are making tortillas to later wrap the filling in, add ground red pepper to the dough - such tortillas are traditionally made spicy.
• Ready-made tortillas can be stored in the refrigerator, but before serving they must be heated in a dry frying pan or in the microwave - they are usually served warm.

These tips will come in handy no matter what tortilla recipe you choose, classic or adapted.

Classic Mexican Corn Tortilla Recipe

• corn flour – 0.4 kg;
• wheat flour – 100 g;
• cold water – 0.25 l;
• butter – 50 g;
• salt – 5 g;
• ground red pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Sift and combine corn and wheat flour in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to them. The latter may not be added if you are preparing tortillas not to wrap the filling in them, but to use them instead of bread.
• Place the softened butter in a plate with flour. Mash it with a fork and mix it into the flour as much as you can.
• Pour in 50 ml of water, stir the dough. Continue pouring water into the bowl with flour in small portions, stirring well each time. The contents of the bowl will initially resemble crumbs, but will gradually turn into a soft, elastic and not too sticky dough.
• Divide the dough into 8 parts. From each part, moisten your hands with vegetable oil, roll into a ball. Dip the dough balls in flour, cover with a cloth and leave for 30-60 minutes.
• Prepare two pieces of cling film by dusting them with flour. Place the ball of dough between the films and, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a round cake about 2 mm thick. It is important that its diameter is no larger than the diameter of the frying pan in which you are going to fry it.
• Roll out the remaining dough in the same way, forming 7 more cakes.
• Heat a dry frying pan and place the flatbread on it. Wait until bubbles start to appear on it - this will happen in about a minute. Flip the tortilla and fry the other side for 40-60 seconds.
• Remove the tortilla and place on a plate. Cover it with a cloth soaked in clean water.
• Fry the remaining tortillas in the same way.

It is advisable to fry tortillas immediately before lunch, as they are eaten warm. If the tortillas cool down, they will still need to be reheated in the same pan or in the microwave.

Corn flour tortillas are easy to turn into corn chips. To do this, just cut them into pieces of approximately the same shape and size, then dry them in a frying pan or in a microwave oven. Mexicans use such chips as cutlery, for example, putting sauce into them, and our compatriots enjoy snacking on beer with such chips. Children will also like corn chips, but tortillas for them need to be prepared without pepper.

Wheat flour tortilla

• wheat flour – 0.5 kg;
• salt – 10–20 g;
• baking powder for dough – 5 g (unless otherwise indicated by the manufacturer);
• margarine – 100 g;
• water – 0.3 l;
• herbs and spices (optional) - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Sift the flour.
• Add baking powder or baking powder, salt, dry herbs and spices to the flour. Mix everything well.
• Finely chop the margarine with a knife or grate it and add to the flour.
• Stir the contents of the bowl.
• Pour cold water into the bowl in small portions and knead the dough.
• Divide the dough into pieces the size of a chicken egg and roll them into round balls. Leave, covered with a cloth, for about half an hour.
• Roll out the ball of dough into flat cakes with a diameter of 17–20 cm.
• Fry the tortillas in a dry frying pan, spending 40-60 seconds on each side.
• Place the tortillas on a plate and place it in a plastic bag that has been moistened with water on the inside. This is necessary so that the cakes do not dry out too much. If you want to use them as chips, no bag is needed.

Use tortillas instead of bread or in other dishes. They can also be broken into pieces and served instead of chips. They are suitable, in particular, as a snack for beer.
The finished wheat flour tortilla can be sprinkled with grated cheese and placed in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for a few minutes. Then it will turn into a flatbread with cheese, even more delicious.

Classic Spanish potato tortilla

• potatoes – 1 kg;
• onions – 150 g;
• chicken egg – 10 pcs.;
• olive oil – 100 ml;
• salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin round slices, as for chips.
• Remove the skins from the onion. Cut the onion into small pieces.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, adding salt and pepper.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry it until golden brown.
• Add the potatoes to the onions and brown them well.
• Transfer the potatoes to a separate container.
• Grease a clean frying pan with oil, place a thin layer of fried potatoes on it, and pour in a small amount of eggs. Cover with a lid and fry until done.

Ecology of consumption. No matter what kind of Mexican dish you cook, in most cases you will definitely need tortillas...

No matter what kind of Mexican dish you cook, in most cases you will definitely need tortillas. Tortillas are thin flatbreads made from corn or wheat flour., such a version of lavash. Tortillas can, of course, be bought now in almost any supermarket, but these are dry, tasteless cakes that can be stored in the store for months.

Tortillas can be divided into two types. The first is crispy and thin flatbreads. These tortillas have a lot of fat and are excellent with grilled meats or vegetables.

The second option, which I have become accustomed to during my many trips to Houston, is soft and plastic tortillas. They are good to use for tacos, burritos and enchiladas, or just as a snack with some hot sauce. I will share the recipe for such flatbreads with you today.

The secret to delicious homemade flatbreads is this:

• Baking powder gives tortillas a light texture and softness,
• The most tender and flexible tortillas are obtained if they are cooked in a very hot frying pan,
• If possible, use lard rather than butter in your tortillas. It is with this that tortillas are prepared in Mexico. You can buy it in supermarkets or make it yourself. To do this, you just need to melt and then cool a piece of lard or bacon.

INGREDIENTS /for 8 pieces/

• 2 cups (250 grams) flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons (45 grams) lard, lard, or vegetable (not olive) oil
• ¾ cup (180 ml) very warm water

COOKING METHOD:

Step 1.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the fat or oil and use your fingers to rub it into the flour into coarse crumbs.

Add warm water and knead the dough until there is no dry flour left at the bottom of the bowl.

Step 2.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead the dough until smooth, about 1 minute.

You can also knead the dough in a food processor. Cover the dough with a damp towel or cling film and let it rest for 7-10 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces, cover with a towel and leave for another 5-7 minutes.

Step 3.

Heat a frying pan over high heat. Roll out one ball of dough into a medium-sized circle about 2mm thick.

Cook the tortillas in the hot pan for 30-60 seconds, then flip and cook for another 30-60 seconds.

Repeat with remaining dough. Keep the finished tortillas under a towel until you prepare the remaining tortillas. published

Also delicious:

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Tortilla- a thin flatbread made from corn or wheat flour, eaten mainly in Mexico, Central America and the USA. In Mexico, stuffed tortilla is one of the national dishes. Tortilla is the basis for many dishes (mainly Mexican cuisine), for example, enchiladas, fajitas, tacos, quesadillas, where various fillings are wrapped in a tortilla, which can be either salty or sweet.

Tortillas prepared at home are much tastier than store-bought ones, and besides, you yourself control what is included in their composition, you can adjust the thickness and diameter of the tortillas. I will do wheat tortillas. The recipe is very simple and straightforward, it’s even surprising how it turns out such delicious flatbreads. Before, I would never have believed it, but now... However, let’s begin.

Ingredients

• flour 320 g
• butter 50 g
• salt 1/2 teaspoon
• water 170-200 ml

From the specified amount of ingredients I got 7 pieces with a diameter of 24-25 cm.

Preparation

First mix the butter with flour and salt. There is no need to take the butter out of the refrigerator in advance; we need it cold. To mix the ingredients, it is convenient to use a food processor or chopper to quickly combine the ingredients, but you can simply cut the butter into small cubes with a knife or grate it. So, mix and rub with your hands until crumbly.

The result is a mixture that resembles fine crumbs.

Next you need to add warm water (about 60°C). Since the quality of flour is very different, it is necessary to approach this stage carefully; the amount of water can vary from 170 to 200 ml. Start with a small amount and add more water if necessary. It took me 170 ml of water. At the beginning it will seem that there is not enough flour, since the dough sticks to your hands, but if you knead it for 5-7 minutes, the dough will become soft, elastic and will not stick to your hands. If necessary, you can add a little flour.

Now we need to divide the dough into equal pieces - future tortillas. I was cooking the tortillas in a 24cm diameter pan (the diameter of the flat bottom, not the edges that usually measure the diameter of a pan), so I divided the dough into 7 balls. If you can use a larger diameter, then reduce the number of balls to 6 or even 5. Cover them with a towel or better with cling film and let them “rest” for 10-15 minutes at room temperature so that the dough becomes soft and easy to roll out.

Roll out each ball very thinly with a rolling pin to the required diameter on a floured surface, trying to maintain a round shape.

Carefully transfer the rolled out flatbread to a well-heated frying pan without oil. Fry over high heat.

When the tortilla becomes opaque and begins to bubble, turn it over to the other side. It took me about 30-40 seconds to fry each side.

Fried on both sides tortillas Place them beautifully in a stack on a plate. Ready-made tortillas can be consumed immediately (they are delicious even without filling and this is quite surprising!), or can be stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in film and reheated as needed. But it's better to make them! Bon appetit!