Until last weekend I had only ever had one form of corn tortillas. Amber in color, coarse of grain, dry, and crumbly. This is the corn tortilla most North Americans are familiar with, the commercial corn tortilla. But let me tell you, a fresh hand-made corn tortilla is a whole 'nother thing.
It turns out that corn tortillas are pretty easy to make by hand, and the results are totally worth it. I don't think I will ever be able to bear eating the standard industrial corn tortilla again.
Here are your ingredients: masa harina flour and water. That's it. Masa harina is a corn flour designed for tortillas, it can often be found in the Mexican section of the grocery store. (Or check the spice aisle near the other flours.)
Mix the masa with water at a ratio of about 2:1.5. (2 cups flour to 1.5 cups water.) Mix it with your hands until it forms a thick dough that hangs together, but is not too watery.
Pull out a small ball of dough and roll it between your palms, then roll it into a flat circle. You can use a tortilla press if you have one. Experienced tortilla makers just pat it out by hand. But the best way for beginners is to press it between two Ziplock bags with a rolling pin. Sprinkle a bit of flour on both sides to keep it from sticking, sandwich the dough between the bags, then roll it out into a thin circle. As thin as you can get it.
Next, cook it for 60 seconds on each side in a griddle or skillet pre-heated to medium-high. If you are making a lot and you need to keep them warm, layer them between damp towels and keep them in a warm oven until they are ready for use. They won't hold for more than about an hour, so you will want to get the timing down.
And they taste so! Good!
Image courtesy Flickr/eliduke
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