Homemade Whole-Wheat Tortillas and Other Good Things

I didn't intend on making homemade tortillas tonight but I did...and here's a quick story why. Last night I made my son and I tacos for dinner (using store-bought tortillas). I filled them with homemade carnitas de pollo (click here for the recipe and pics), salsa pico de gallo (recipe below), lettuce, and cheese. They were delicious, to say the least. Anyhow, I knew I was going to be home alone tonight and that there were leftover pollo and salsa...all I needed was a few tortillas (we ate the last of them last night). I was going to the health club for a steam and swim and figured I'd pick up the tortillas on the way home. I was/am tight on cash and had just a few dollars with me; enough to purchase the tortillas. Lap swimming often makes me hungry, and all I was thinking about was these tacos when I came home (they were that delicious last night). So on my way home I stopped at a local grocer...no tortillas, he told me. Sorry, all out. Not even the white flour variety. So I went to another store, this time a chain store...the same issue. Huh? After unlocking my bike for the third time, I stood on it for a moment contemplating as to whether I should go to the supermarket (I really dislike large supermarkets). To make a long story short, as I stood there straddling my bike, I thought to myself a few things. One was that I had the few meager ingredients home to make tortillas; the second was that I knew they were easy to make because I've made them in the past; and three was that being a professional cook I could make these in just a few minutes. So that's just what I did...and they were so good I wondered I was going to purchase them in the first place. Recipes are below.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Makes 12 tortillas

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ cups warm water

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Add the oil, and using your fingers, rub the ingredients together until it resembles course cornmeal. Add the water; stir to form a dough. Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes, then allow it to rest for ten minutes. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. Using a small rolling pin or wooden dowel, roll the tortillas out very thin on a lightly floured surface. Heat a large skillet and cook the tortillas one at a time on both sides until lightly blistered and browned. 

 (For a recipe for the Carnitas de Pollo pictured above, click here.)

 

Salsa Pico de Gallo

Makes about 2 cups

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced

½ medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

a few leaves cilantro

Mix all ingredients together. Use straight away or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Urban Simplicity.