Wheat flour50 grams Mesquite flour1 tablespoon kosher salt
PistachioCompound Butter (opposite)
32
Sonoran-Style Staples
Sonoran-Style Staples
33
¹⁄2 cups shelled unsalted
raw pistachios
¹⁄2 pound unsalted butter,
preferably grass-fed, softened2 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil
¹⁄4 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves1 garlic clove, peeled
¹⁄4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Juice from ¹⁄2lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast the nuts in the oven until fragrant and lightly browned, shaking the pan every few minutes to prevent burning, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour onto a plate to cool. When cooled, seal the pistachios in a resealable plastic bag and coarsely smash with a hammer or wooden mallet. Transfer to a medium bowl. Set aside ¹⁄2 cup of pistachios.
Fold the rest into the softened butter.
Put the olive oil, basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and lemon juice in the processor; pulse until smooth. Fold into pistachio-butter mixture; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide the butter between two pieces of plastic wrap large enough to make two butter logs. Top both with the pistachios, then wrap the plastic wrap over the top, between your hands and the toppings (this will help keep your hands clean), and gently roll into tight logs. Fold in the short end of the plastic wrap to cover the ends. Refrigerate until firm. To serve, unwrap and let soften to a spreadable consistency.
Keeps in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
Pistachio Compound Butter
MAKES BUTTER LOGS
Don Guerra was serving this crunchy nut-infused butter alongside his bread at a farm-to-table event I attended. The second I tasted it I knew I wanted to share it with you all in this book. Thank you to Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort Chef Bruce Yim for the recipe. Arizona is one of only three states where pistachio crops are grown in the U.S.
In a large bowl, slowly add the ¹⁄2 cups warm water to the masa harina and combine using your hands or a rubber spatula. Knead the masa until no dried powder remains. The dough should be moist to the touch but not tacky, leaving bits of wet masa on your hand and fingers. Add salt to taste. Roll the dough into 1- to 2-inch balls. The exact portion size will depend on the size of your tortilla press. It may take some practice to get the balls the correct size.
Heat a lightly oiled nonstick or cast-iron frying pan or comal over medium-high heat.
Open the tortilla press and lay a piece of plastic wrap over the bottom half. Place a ball of dough on top. Lay another piece of plastic wrap on top of the ball and pull down the press handle to squish the ball flat. If the tortilla sticks to the plastic wrap, add a little more masa to the dough. Lift the bottom piece of plastic wrap with the tortilla on it. Flip the tortilla into the palm of your other hand and slowly peel off the plastic wrap. Then flip it over in the pan. Don’t do any of this with too much gusto. The raw tortillas tear and fold over easily.
Heat the tortilla for 30 seconds. Using your fingertips or a set of tongs, flip the tortilla. Cook for another 60 seconds. The tortilla will puff up a bit and turn slightly brown in spots. Remove from the heat, then move on to the next tortilla while you let the first one cool. Tortillas can be stacked and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week and reheated in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds on each side.
VARIATION: FLAVORED CORN TORTILLAS
Try experimenting with flavoring the tortillas by kneading ½ teaspoon of chile powder orotherspices into the prepared dough beforeshaping.
2 cups masa harina
¹⁄2 cups warm water (see note)
¹⁄2 teaspoon sea salt, or to tasteVegetable oil for pan
Corn Tortillas
MAKES ABOUT TORTILLAS
Corn tortillas are usually 4 to 6 inches in diameter and easy to make. You will need masa harina, which is different from cornmeal or corn flour. Masa is flour that is made from dried corn that has been nixtamalized, or soaked in an alkalized lime solution (from limestone, not the fruit), before it is ground. Nixtamalization makes the corn more nutritious and pliable. Warm water to make the tortillas should be about 100°F, or the hot setting on your faucet, in order to begin blooming the natural flavor of the masa and to fully activate the small bits of pericarp (corn skin) in the masa flour, which help the masa bind naturally.
34
Sonoran-Style Staples
Sonoran-Style Staples Sonoran-Style Staples
35
FLOUR VS. CORN TORTILLAS
I tend to save flour tortillas for a treat and use corn tortillas daily because the nixtamalization process makes corn tortillas nutritionally complete—you could live off corn tortillas and beans if you wanted to. They are only about 60 calories each, and most are wheat and gluten free. Some of the prepackaged “corn” tortillas on the market are mixed with wheat flour, so check the labels.
I’ve included a corn tortilla recipe in this book because they are easy to make. Flour tortillas, however, require a certain amount of skill and I prefer to leave their preparation to a tortilla professional.
We are lucky to have excellent and widely available handmade flour tortillas here in Tucson. Happily, in this modern era, high-quality flour tortillas are available online for delivery to everyone everywhere. At the time of this book’s publication, La Mesa Tortillas in Tucson ships worldwide. Hopefully this trend will continue with other high-quality, hand-stretched tortillas into the future.
I expect that for basic burrito/burro/chimi needs, most people aren’t going to want to go through the extra step of making their own flour tortillas. This is a skill that requires a good degree of practice, so I am going to recommend doing the best with what you have. However, you will also want to be able to spot the signs of a good-quality, store-bought tortilla. Namely:• They shouldn’t look too white or too puffy.• They should be light golden brown in color and have darker brown patches.• The stack of tortillas should be slightly different sizes and shapes.•
