Adobo Corn Tortillas

I just want to give a shout out to all those hard working kitchen workers that supply us with delicious food every time we have a meal at their establishment.  Whether its a small café tucked into small town America, or a restaurant chain that serves absolutely everything, to a fine dining restaurant we all need to say “thank you”.

I was recently sitting in a small café in a really small town in the wild west eating a delicious lunch of homemade corn tortilla chicken tacos.

On my plate were three corn tortillas with shredded chicken, cilantro and chopped onion.  I had a lime wedge and choice of two bottles of hot sauce.

To me this is the authentic taco, a simple very flavorful corn tortilla taco, as much of the flavors comes from the homemade corn tortillas, there is depth that is hard to explain, the tortilla is fresh and cooked with your order.

As I took bite after bite I was thinking about ways to add another layer of flavor to the meal, my gaze drifted to the groceries section of this little café and I noticed a can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce.

It was my luck day as I happen to immensely enjoy the chipotle and adobo flavor which is a mildly spicy deep red sauce.

When I arrived back home and put on my comfy clothes and slippers I decided to make some home made corn tortillas.

I took out the Masa Harina corn flour from the cupboard, grabbed a good sized bowl, and the can of chipotle adobo sauce.

The ratio of corn flour to water is 2 C flour to 1 1/2 C  hot water, adding this and the pinch of salt to my mixing bowl I used a fork to mix the dough together until it was soft , I added in the red adobo sauce from the can .

Using my hands I kneaded the dough for 2-3 minutes, the dough should feel springy and firm.  If the dough is to wet add more Masa Harina, or if too dry and crumbly add a tablespoon of water, until the consistency is just right.

I covered the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for about 10 minuets.

To make the tortilla dough I simply took a large spoon and scooping it out of the bowl, I rolled it into a nice medium sized ball. When I had all the dough rolled into balls, I heated up my cast iron skillet.

Using my tortilla press, I used two pieces of parchment paper, place on piece on the bottom of the open press, placed a dough ball on the parchment paper, added another parchment paper on top of the dough ball, and closed the tortilla press.

This is the fun part, when you open up the tortilla press, there it is your very own homemade corn tortilla.

Flip the tortilla onto your hot pan and cook about 1 minute per side until a light golden brown starts to appear.

Once the tortillas are done, place them on a plate covered with either a towel or foil to keep them warm, until ready to eat.

I will have to say the Adobo Corn Tortilla is now my favorite corn tortilla of all time.  The flavor is just where I wanted it with a mild spice, and the homemade tortilla is so much better than any store bought one any day!

Enjoy!