First thing I did was make some corn tortilla dough. I didn't use Alton Brown's recipe, but it would be a dandy one. While it hydrated, I went to the store and bought some ground beef and red bell peppers. By the time I got back, the dough was ready. I preheated the oven to 350F and got to work on the dough. While my wife rolled the dough into little balls (maybe 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons each), I flattened them in the tortilla press and then pressed them into a mini muffin tin that I had already sprayed with cooking oil. When the tin was full, we popped it into the oven until the cups got nice and brown around the edges. We pulled it out and immediately moved the cups to a cooling rack, to keep them from steaming themselves in the pan and getting all soggy.
While they cooled, we cooked up some of the beef with some diced red bell pepper. In our case, we seasoned with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, chile powder and chipotle Tabasco. You can cook it however you want. Then we filled each cup with the beef mixture and topped with grated cheese. If you want to actually make it a salad, go ahead and add lettuce or something. You might even want to think about using regular-sized muffin tins. It was actually a pretty quick dish to make, especially with two of us forming an assembly line, and it was pretty tasty to eat too. Perfect for an appetizer party.
Maybe it's just me, but I thought this was really cool and would be fun until I ran across the part about slaked lime and dried corn kernals. Do you have any other recipes for tortillas?
ReplyDeleteOk, I've been bugging you about an appetizer party for a while, I want some of these there, or here at work if possible. They seem to be the type of food that you would always find yourself eating without realizing it.
ReplyDeleteArt: Yeah, you can just buy masa harina from the store. The dough I used was actually a gordita dough, and I don't know if the person I got it from wants me handing it out. Just do a Google search for corn tortilla recipes and I'm sure something will come up. There might even be a recipe on the masa harina bag.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... This reminds me of a simliar dish I created this past week. Only instead of making my own mini tortillas, I just wrapped up taco makings inside a wonton like an egg roll and deep fried them. Gotta love those egg roll wrappers.
ReplyDeleteIn a pinch I might try those 'dipper' chips.They're like mini taco shells. I think Tostido makes them...
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