Homemade tortillas with delicious fillings!
“Taco Tuesday” is often a staple in households and even in the public school cafeteria. Though, we don’t have tacos all too often in our house, and when we do it isn’t the typical ground beef and cheese tacos nor do we have them on Tuesdays. In fact, we like to make them at the end of a long week and we love to make our own tortillas as well as experiment with fillings!
“Best ever” Homemade Flour Tortillas
(thanks to https://thecafesucrefarine.com/best-ever-homemade-flour-tortillas/)
I like to use this recipe because it allows me to use olive oil whereas other tortilla recipes commonly use vegetable oil or lard.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil or other fairly neutral-flavored oil
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, mix dry ingredients until well combined.
- Add oil and water with mixer running at a medium speed. After about 1 minute, or when the mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 16 equal portions. Turn each piece to coat with flour. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes (or as much as 2 hours) before proceeding.
- After the rest period, heat a large pan over medium heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will stick together.
- When the pan is hot, place one dough circle into the pan and allow to cook for about 1 minute or until the bottom surface has a few pale brown spots and the uncooked surface is bubbly. If browning too fast, reduce the heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on the underside of tortillas, increase the heat a bit. Flip to the other side and cook for 15-20 seconds. The tortillas should be nice and soft but have a few small brown spots on the surface.
- Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag to keep the tortillas soft.
- Serve warm or allow to cool for later use. When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a microwave-safe container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. Microwave uncovered for 15-30 seconds (start with 15) or until warm, then keep covered to hold heat while serving.
- Store in an airtight container or zippered bag at room temperature for 24 hours or refrigerate for up to 1 week. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in the freezer.
Taco Fillings
We have played around with taco fillings over the years. We almost always include beans whether they be black beans or pinto beans (or any other type of bean we may have on hand). This is mainly because we always have beans in the house, they are insanely good for you and we love them! However, a typical taco filling includes seasoned ground beef, Mexican mix cheese, lettuce, and onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, and Ortega taco sauce.
The most recent taco filling we made included black beans, brown rice, shredded cheeses, queso cheese, jalapenos and also Ortega taco sauce (a must-have for tacos!)
Other filling options
- Cilantro
- Hot sauce
- Sauteed pork
- Beef tongue
- Tilapia (for fish tacos)
