Corn Tortillas- Low Fat and Lavishly Cheap!
As you know, I'm a big fan of finding lavishly cheap whole foods to support a lean and healthy lifestyle. Although corn tortillas aren't a "whole food," it's much closer than it's "flour tortilla" counter part- and these are gluten free. For Homemade Corn Tortilla Recipe, click here. Corn tortillas are made out of Corn masa mix. Using a tortilla press will make it much more simple (recipe included at the bottom of this page). Rolling out corn tortillas takes some time to master and by using a tortilla press you enable yourself to make nice round tortillas like the traditional corn tortilla. What I like about corn tortillas is they're much closer to a whole food than most of the highly processed foods in the bread family. They're lavishly cheap and extremely versatile for southwest and Mexican-American dishes. Corn tortillas are available at many super markets throughout the United States, but if they're not available in your area, I have included a recipe here and I've also included the ingredients and cookware needed. These are Amazon affiliate links, so if you do choose to purchase them from here, it's greatly appreciated. Homemade corn tortillas are much different than store bought corn tortillas. Once you try them, you may find you never want to go back to store bought tortillas. You can purchase a 4.4 lb. bag of corn flour for approximately $7.95 (with s/h $14.74) which makes approximately 70 corn tortillas (approximately 21 cents per serving). However, if you purchase the flour locally, you cut your savings signficantly (reducing the cost to approximately 12 cents per serving). Corn tortillas range in price. Here in New Mexico they cost approxomately $7 for three dozen (19 cents a piece). Homemade corn tortillas, however, are much lighter and fresh.
The manufacturer (the Gruma) company has been making this fine corn flour for over 50 years. Click here for corn tortilla masa. 
You will also need a tortilla press. tortilla press You can try rolling the tortilla masa dough between two pieces of wax paper (with a rolling pin), but it takes time to master the art. I personally like the tortilla press. It cuts back on preparation time and turns around a much more presentable (round) tortilla. To Check out the Tortilla Press, click here.
2 cups of masa flour 1 1/2 cups warm water (Amount of water varies according to package directions). In large bowl, combine masa flour and water. Once combined, allow to sit 5 to 10 minutes. After sitting time, knead dough with hands for several minutes. If dough seems too wet, or too dry add water or masa flour accordingly. Shape a small piece of masa dough the size of a ping pong ball. Take two square sheets of wax paper (or plastic) to fit in the tortilla press. Place one sheet down on tortilla press. Place dough in center, place the other piece of wax paper on top, and press the tortilla gently press down on the tortilla press until the dough has spread to 6 inches in diameter. Preheat griddle of large cooking pan on high. Once a single drop of water dissipates immediately, carefully remove wax from tortilla flat, cradle it in your hand, and allow half the tortilla to drop in pan and gently allow the other half to drop in pan. Toast until slightly bubbled and toasted on one side. Flip and toast other side. For more lavish cheapskate southwest recipes, click here |
