Comments on: Help me fancy up my homemade corn tortillas!

Question: Help me fancy up my homemade corn tortillas!

ORthey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:54:52 -0800

Help me fancy up my homemade corn tortillas!

I've read some previous questions about perfecting homemade tortillas, but I'm not interested in technique/tips (that's well covered here) so much as adding ingredients. At my local farmers' market (Berkeley, CA) there's a place that sells these amazing tortillas that have beans and cheese cooked right in - this is the type of thing I'm looking for. Is it as simple as just adding whatever sounds delicious to the dough, or does it depend on the ingredients? What can I add? I have a tortilla press, and lots of time on my hands (the perfect combo for experimenting!).

By: lysdexic

lysdexic — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:30:40 -0800

Do you mean gorditas, or are the beans and cheese mixed in to the masa and then cooked?

By: ORthey

ORthey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:38:46 -0800

Yeah, the beans and cheese are mixed into the dough before cooking... the final product is dark (made with black beans).

By: necessitas

necessitas — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:41:25 -0800

Try adding chopped greek and kalamata olives to the dough. I tried these and they were AMAZING! Maybe you could use olive tortillas for a mid-eastern taco with marinated meats or fava beans, feta, etc.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:45:45 -0800

I went to a restaurant last week where they pressed edible flowers into the tortillas. Didn't add much to the taste, but the presentation was quite striking.

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:46:16 -0800

You basically want to do as much as you can to make your ingredients a liquid, and then to use that liquid as a substitute for as much of the water as you can (then add as much water as you need to in order to get the right consistency in the dough).

Roasted, pureed green chiles, for example, or pureed black beans.

It's easier with corn tortillas than with flour. The gluten in flour tortillas means you can make some really tough, cracker-like tortillas if you get too creative.

By: Ladybug Parade

Ladybug Parade — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:15:54 -0800

Similar to the edible flowers, whole fresh herb leaves can be very pretty, too -- cilantro could be perfect here.

By: apartment dweller

apartment dweller — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:38:45 -0800

There are also pupusas, which you might like (stuffed masa tortillas from El Salvador).