Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers (39 page)

6. Cover the shaped
pupusas
with a damp, clean kitchen towel or waxed paper. Lightly oil and heat a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. The skillet is ready when a few drops of water sizzle on contact. I like to brush
pupusas
with a little peanut or olive oil right before cooking, for a crisper crust.

7. Grill a few
pupusas
at a time, 4 to 6 minutes, flip, and repeat on the other side. Occasionally press down the center and edges gently with your spatula. Cooked
pupusa
masa should be firm and golden; a few dark spots on the surface is fine, even desirable. If serving all of the
pupusas
, you may want to keep them warm in an oven, wrapped in foil, while preparing the rest.

8. Always serve piping hot
pupusas
with a side of warm Simple Latin Tomato Sauce and a generous heap of Salvadorian Marinated Slaw. Slices of avocado and your favorite hot sauce will just make you even more popular with your new
pupusa
fans.

•
Makes one dozen 5- to 6-inch tortillas

•
Time: Less than 15 minutes (if using a tortilla press; a little longer if using a rolling pin)

•
Gluten Free, Soy Free

 

1½ cups Mexican masa harina, such as
MASECA brand
1¼ cups warm water
½ teaspoon salt

 

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the harina, water, and salt well to form a firm but pliable dough. If it’s too crumbly, stream in a little more water; if too moist, sift in a tiny bit more harina. Knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth. Divide the dough into twelve equal portions and roll into balls. Cover with a damp, clean kitchen towel to keep moist. Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle (avoid using nonstick) over medium-high heat. Do not oil the skillet. The pan is ready when a few drops of water flicked onto its surface sizzle rapidly.

2. If you’re using a tortilla press: Line the press with a single long piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper folded in half. Place a ball of dough in the center of the plastic wrap, squish down the dough, and bring down the lever to lock it in place. Alternatively, if you do not have a press, you can use two pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper and a rolling pin. Place a ball of tortilla dough between the plastic and roll very thinly, less than ⅛ inch, turning the tortilla around a few times to get an even thickness.

3. Now that your tortilla dough is flat, gently peel off the top layer of plastic. Flip the tortilla onto your hand, remove the second sheet of plastic, and place the tortilla in the pan. Cook on each side for 30 to 40 seconds, or until the surface of tortilla looks dry and feels mostly firm, not too doughy, when pressed. Take care not to overcook, to avoid hard, dry tortillas. Flip the hot, freshly cooked tortilla into a folded clean kitchen towel and cover completely with the towel to keep in the heat and steam. Continue to cook the rest of the dough and to stack and cover the tortillas.

4. Serve the hot tortillas immediately. As the tortillas start to cool, they will stiffen and become more likely to crack if folded, so keep them wrapped in a clean cloth napkin or in a covered container, taking out only as many tortillas as you’re going to eat.

5. Store tightly wrapped or covered in the fridge. Tortillas reheat perfectly in a microwave; just wrap in a damp paper towel and heat on high for 15 to 20 seconds, until hot and pliable.

•
Makes eight 7- to 8-inch tortillas

•
Time: Less that 30 minutes

 

2 cups white whole wheat flour, plus
extra flour for rolling
2 tablespoons chia seeds
½ rounded teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup nonhydrogenated vegetable
shortening, at room temperature
⅔ cup warm water

 

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, chia seeds, salt, and baking powder. Stir together with your fingers then, with a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the shortening until the flour has a sandy texture. Alternatively, you may use a food processor to blend the flour mixture with the shortening. Pour in the water and stir (fingers are best) to form a stiff dough; knead for about a minute to form a smooth but firm ball. If the dough appears dry, drizzle in a tiny bit of water and knead into the dough.

2. Divide the dough into eight pieces and roll into balls. Cover with a damp, clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 10 to 12 minutes. Prepare a work surface for rolling the dough—lightly dust with a little flour and have ready a rolling pin. If desired, you can roll between waxed paper, but I found it works just as well without. In addition, line a large, shallow bowl with a few large, clean kitchen towels for wrapping the hot tortillas (or use a tortilla warmer, page 26).

3. Just before you are ready to make the tortillas, heat a large cast-iron skillet or
comal
(the original tortilla grill, page 27) over medium heat. Take a ball of dough and press it down slightly onto your floured board. Use the rolling pin to roll the ball into a very thin (less than ⅛ inch or thinner) circle 7 to 8 inches in diameter. To help form a nice-looking circle of dough, roll the dough once or twice with long strokes of the rolling pin, then turn the circle around 45 degrees and repeat; continue to rotate and roll to keep the circle from turning lopsided. Flip occasionally to help shape the tortilla. It’s okay if it’s not perfect . . . each tortilla has its own distinctive personality!

4. Place the rolled dough on the preheated skillet and cook until bubbles start to form and the edges look a little dry, 1½ to 2 minutes. Flip the tortilla with tongs or your fingers (careful!) and grill for another 1 to 1½ minutes; do not overcook or it will get hard and dry, but a few puffy browned spots are fine. Place the hot tortilla in the lined bowl and immediately wrap with kitchen towels. Roll out another tortilla, place on the griddle, and while it’s cooking, roll out another one. Cook the remaining dough into tortillas in this way, stacking the hot tortillas on top of one another and making sure to cover tightly with the towels. Serve the hot tortillas immediately or reheat by wrapping in moistened paper towels and microwaving on medium power or by heating on a preheated skillet until soft.

•
Makes 12 to 14
taquitos
, serving 4 or 5 as an entrée

 

1 pound potatoes
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoons dried Mexican or ordinary
oregano
½
teaspoon ground cumin
2 links Seitan Chorizo Sausages (page 36),
chopped finely
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh
cilantro
12 to 14 corn tortillas
Vegetable oil, for pan-frying

 

1. Clean and scrape any eyes or discoloration from skin of the potatoes, then chop into bite-size chunks. In a large soup pot, combine the chopped potatoes and enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat to low, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are extremely tender and easy to mash when pressed with a fork. Turn off the heat, reserve about ¼ cup of the potato-cooking liquid, and drain the potatoes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, fry the garlic in the peanut oil until the garlic starts to sizzle, about 30 seconds. Stir in the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender and translucent; stir in the oregano, cumin, and chorizo, and fry for 5 minutes. Add the drained potatoes, lime juice, salt, and ground pepper, and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes with the vegetables and chorizo to completely mix them together. Turn off the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of the potato-cooking water and the cilantro. Stir the ingredients well and taste the mixture; adjust the seasonings with more lime juice and salt, if necessary. The potatoes should be very firm but a little moist; if too dry, stir in additional potato-cooking water to moisten. Let the potato filling cool just enough to handle but use while still warm.

3. Create a
taquito
assembly line by first heating a corn tortilla, then filling and rolling it, and finally frying it. First, preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Take a corn tortilla, place it on the heated griddle for 30 seconds, then flip it over and heat until the tortilla is hot, soft, and pliable. It’s important to keep the tortillas warm and moist, as they may crack if cooled while rolling the taquitos.

4. To shape a
taquito
, place about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in a line down the center of the hot tortilla, patting the filling all the way to the edges. Over medium heat, fry the taquito in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large preheated cast-iron skillet. Place the
taquito
seam side down in the hot pan; it’s important to fry the seam side first, as this will help hold the
taquito
together as it cooks. Cook on the seam side for about 2 minutes, or until golden and firm, then gently roll over the
taquito
and cook on the other sides for 1 to 2 minutes each, or until golden. Assemble and repeat with all of the
taquitos
, frying up to four at a time. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan whenever the
taquitos
need more browning. Transfer the
taquitos
to serving plates and eat immediately or to a pan in a 300°F oven and keep warm until ready to serve.