Tortillas de Quelites

 

I hope everyone of you is having a great holiday season and a good New Year!  I wish you all profound peace for the upcoming year.  I think we can always use a bit more of it.

I should  go over the nomenclature of the main extra ingredient for these tortillas.  I saw them in Diana Kennedy’s beautiful and massive “Oaxaca al Gusto, an Infinite Gastronomy”,  a cookbook dedicated to 11 distinct regions of that southern state in Mexico.  This is not the post to get into the book but I’ll just mention it is  gorgeous,  with many beautiful photos of foods and dishes which can only be found in that region’s remote corners.  “Tortillas de Quintonil” which she translates as “Tortillas of Wild Greens” is the recipe I found in the book.  In another one of hers,  “From My Mexican Kitchen”,  she writes that quintoniles include several species from the amaranth family and fall under the umbrella of quelites or wild greens.  For Rick Bayless,  quelites are more specifically what is known as lamb’s quarters.  Marilyn Tausend in “Cocina De La Familia”, also refers to quelites as lamb’s quarters.  So you dear readers who are  forager’s and/or gardener’s, I include a photo of the green so that you can comment on the identification of it.  I appreciate any clarification. In Mexican cooking they are primarily used as a light stew with perhaps onion and garlic, as taco filling, or as an ingredient added to pinto beans.  This is the only time I’ve seen them as an ingredient in the masa for corn tortillas.  These greens are readily available year round in one of our supermarkets alongside verdolagas, huauzontles, epazote, yerbabueana,  berro, other greens or herbs used in Mexican cuisine.  We are fortunate to have them.  I’m also keeping a good eye out for wild quelites, since they seem to grow wild in many parts of the U.S and Mexico.

According to Kennedy,  quelites are used especially during the rainy season to help in times when corn is running low, thus stretching the stock of maize for a longer time.  They add a green earthiness to the tortillas which I enjoy.  My cilantro flour tortillas came to mind when I made them,  but these have a different flavor altogether.  They are very tasty and unusual,  good for making tacos,  quesadillas,  or just eaten alone with salsa.  They will surely attract curiosity if you present them on your next Mexican buffet.

Kennedy uses fresh corn masa but I opted for masa harina, which means an addition of water is necessary.  The quelites provide some moisture so I watched carefully as I added the water.  Cooking the greens with a bit of onion and garlic before adding them to the masa makes them more flavorful.

This recipe is an adaptation of hers.   She also suggests using other types of edible greens or spinach.

This will make 9 to 10 tortillas:

3 good bunches of quelites ( it will render about 1 cup after cooking down)( each of the bunches weighed about 1/4 #)

about 1 heaping tablespoon  chopped onion

2 medium garlic cloves chopped

2 tablespoon oil

1 cup masa harina

1/2 cup water

3/4 teaspoon salt

To be more specific,  you need about 6-8 ounces of leaves only. The stems are too tough to use.   Remove the leaves from the stems and thoroughy wash them to remove the dirt.  Drain them. Get about 2 quarts of slightly salted water to boil in a pot.  Add the greens and cook until just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Drain them and run cool water over them.  When cool enough to handle,  squeeze as much water as you can from them.

Heat a frying or saute pan to medium heat and add the oil, I used grapeseed, but olive oil, vegetable, or other kinds of mild flavored should do ok.  Saute the onion for a minute, then add the garlic.  Don’t let them burn.  Finally add the quelites and fry just lightly for a minute or two.  Add more oil if necessary. Remove from the heat and let them cool down.  Next,  finely chop the green mixture.

In a mixing bowl,  put the masa harina, salt,  and chopped quelites mixture and blend well together.  Add most of the 1/2 cup of water and incorporate.  Add more water as needed to make a moist dough. It should be neither too moist or too dry.  One way I check is by squeezing a small portion between my thumb and index finger.  It should not be too dry that it cracks at the edges.

Divide the masa into 9 or 10 portions and form each into a ball.   I let them rest for a few minutes. Keep them covered with a moist towel.  They tend to quickly dry out. Get your trusty tortilla press and a piece of plastic wrap.  Cut the plastic into two pieces that are each just big enough to cover the plate of your tortilla press.

You might have one of these or the metal type of tortilladora.  If not, you can get away with using a rolling pin to shape your tortillas. If you can do it by using your two hands, I’ll be quite impressed.

Get your comal or heavy skillet pre-heated over your stove to medium hotness.

Place one of the pieces of plastic on the plate of the press and put one of the masa balls on top.

 

Put the other piece of plastic on top. Then press. You may have to rotate the dough once to get a nice circle.

 

Remove the top plastic

 

Place the dough and bottom plastic on your weak hand.

Carefully flip it over onto your strong hand and remove the remaining plastic.

It’s ready to flip over onto your hot comal.

The tortilla should give a slight sizzle when you place it on the comal. Cook the tortilla for about a minute to 90 seconds,  then flip it over.  After another minute or two turn it over again and let it cook maybe another minute.  If your tortillas are sticking, they are too moist.  If they crack and harden,  they are either too dry, or the comal is too hot.  You’ll get the hang of getting the dough the right consistency and the skillet to just the right hotness with practice.

When they are done, they may have a few nice brown spots.  They should be nice and flexible and not crack when rolled or folded. Keep them covered with a kitchen cloth.  So far they’ve kept well after a day when kept in the refrigerator.  They just need to be heated up to get their flexibility back.

They tend to be a little thicker than regular corn tortillas, but they are still quite soft and flexible.  Just keep them covered.

I made some mouthwatering quesadillas with some of the dough.

Pureed butternut squash flavored with ancho chile powder and epazote for one,  and refried beans and epazote for another.

Or the butternut squash and ancho powder puree with cilantro and mild red pepper.

That’s a stripe of New Mexican chile tomato salsa there.  Many different types of salsa go well with these.

 

I know I’m very late but I’m sending these tortillas over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday to help celebrate the 100th edition of her fabulous party where you’ll find insanely talented cooks, gardeners, storytellers, and more presenting their incredible creations.  It is quite a feat to have kept it going strong for so long.  She also has her many friends who have assisted with the work it takes to keep such a labor of love going.  Congratulations Angie!