Tortillas

Rolling out the dough

Handmade tortillas are delicious, but seemed rather intimidating. Not long ago, I had tacos with some friends who had made their own tortillas and they insisted that it was really easy to do. Inspired by their delicious meal, I spent some time looking over recipes and I chose a simple one (ie, not many ingredients, no lard) from allrecipes.com. As simple as this recipe sounded, I was skeptical.

So I called in reinforcements...my mother.
She was, once again, up for the challenge.

a few minutes in the skillet

Turns out, the tortilla dough was very simple, but it did take a bit of work to hand roll each little flatbread. Which lead to a discussion in which we wondered what methods, tools, or appliances are used by the women who make tortillas on a daily basis.

The results were delicious. My parents, husband and I enjoyed the tortilla-feast which also included Cuban-style black beans and rice as well organically raised, seasoned ground beef for the carnivorous men. The tortillas had a wonderfully chewy texture, fresh taste and a surprising strength that store-bought tortillas seem to lack.

Served with Cuban rice and beans

Overall, a delightful meal.