Wild Garlic Tortilla
So I know what your are thinking, making wild garlic tortillas is not at the top of our PRIORITIES at the moment but I hope I can persuade you with these two things :
1- Is better and easier to cook with what’s in season, now if you don’t have access to wild garlic I’ll offer a few swaps.
2- Making tortillas at home works as therapy and your tacos will taste amazing.
3- Ok I realise I said only two things but I have come up with a third reason, and perhaps the most important one for all the parents of small children out there, kids can make these with you!
I have said this many times but a big part of making my own tortillas (besides the obvious “they are nicer”) is to be able to involve my kids in the kitchen and spend more time with them , so not only they can learn a new skill and about the importance of making their own food, but it’s also another hour of the day when you can keep those little hands busy.
If you do get to find wild garlic or ramsons around, the use of them in this recipe wasn’t just random! even though wild garlic has a strong garlic smell their flavour is milder than garlic and a bit grassy, which to me made it perfect to make tortillas, bakers use wild garlic to make bread and I use it to make tortillas. I also find that this beautiful ingredient is perfect for making salsas, for a while I have forgotten about coriander (my most used and loved herb) and have been kind of obsessed using wild garlic , but that’s another story.
Now if you don’t have access to it, you can replace it with one or two of the following:
Spinach.
Coriander.
Rocket.
Parsley.
Makes 18-20 small tortillas.
Ingredients:
50-60 grams of fresh wild garlic, (ramsons).
Remember to keep some of the smaller leafs or the tops to use them in the tortillas to create a pretty print.
2 cups of corn flour, (special to make tortillas).
1 tsp sea salt.
1 1/2 cups water.
Method:
Separate 20 tops or smaller leafs, the nicest ones can be used to create the pretty print effect and use the rest to blend with 1 cup of the water at room temperature, blend really smooth until you get a lovely bright green colour juice, reserve.
in a bowl add the corn flour, salt and the wild garlic juice, mix with a wooden spoon and then with your hands , add the rest of the water little by little, you may not need to use it all but it’s handy to keep the water on the side in case your masa gets a bit dry while you are making your tortillas.
So mix well and integrate all the ingredients, then place your masa over the kitchen surface and knead the masa briefly until you get a moist masa but not too sticky or too dry, (see picture below).
Once your masa is ready follow the next steps, ( see pictures above ) :
Form masa balls with the palms of your hands
Place the masa ball into the tortilla press in-between two pieces of plastic film.
Press your masa down slightly but not all the way, then carefully arrange a wild garlic leaf on the top, place the plastic film back on top and you can now press all the way to make a tortilla.
Cook over a really hot non stick pan and flip over after a minute or less until both sides are cooked.
Repeat the same procedure with the rest of your masa.
Spread your tortillas over the counter to allow them to cool down and then store away.
Alternatively if you are using them straight away keep them warm covered with a tea towel, you can reheat over a hot pan if necessary.
Note: depending on the use of these tortillas you can make them thinner or thicker, I recommend to make them thinner if they are going to be fried, but perhaps a bit thicker if they will be used for tacos as you want them to be able to hold the filling, it’s garnish and salsa.
