This week we made a dinner of various Rick Bayless recipes and enjoyed every bite.
Week: 17 of 52
Cookbooks: Mexican Everyday and Authentic Mexican, by Rick Bayless
I started everything by making tortillas, which, unless you live near a tortilla factory and can get fresh masa, are made with masa harina (corn flour). Maseca is a commonly available brand. The masa is mixed with water to form a soft, not sticky, dough which is divided and rolled into balls.
Using a tortilla press, the dough balls are pressed between two sheets of plastic (I used wax paper) and pressed out to 5-6″ in diameter. Peel off the plastic and cook on a griddle for about 30 seconds per side, until they start to brown.
When done, they will feel crisp. Wrap in a towel and let rest for 15 minutes as they finish cooking and soften.
I wanted about 20 tortillas for breakfast (huevos con chorizo), tostadas for the ceviche, and plenty for tacos. I was a little short on dough, so my tortillas were a bit on the small side, but they still tasted great and very fresh.
For the ceviche, we did it Peruvian-style, which uses sushi-grade fish and doesn’t marinate the fish long, leaving it rare. In Mexican ceviche, the fish is marinated for up to 24 hours in a lime juice mixture which will fully cook the fish, so any fish can be used. We picked up some sushi-grade tuna and marinated it in lime juice, garlic, cilantro and jalapeno.
We let it marinate for about 10 minutes only, poured off some of the marinade and added tomato, scallion, and avocado. I fried a couple tortillas in vegetable oil to make tostadas and served the ceviche on top. Really yummy & fresh!
Finally, we used the tortillas for skirt steak tacos. The steak had a chipotle marinade and we served the tacos with an avocado crema and salsa.
Ingredients:
- Masa
- Water
- Sushi-grade fish
- Fresh lime juice
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno
- Garlic
- Tomato
- Avocado
- Scallion
- Skirt steak
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
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