Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Homemade Tortillas for Quesadillas and Fajitas

Making this tortilla recipe was easy, fun and delicious! It was a bit sticky on account of our humidity and I had to add a bit more flour in order to roll it out. I don't have lard in my pantry so I substituted Crisco. I actually never photographed my fajitas (cause I ate it!)but the same ingredients were used to make the quesadillas.
Using pastry blend, mix 2 Cups Flour with 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder and 1 tsp Salt. Using pastry blend, cut in 3 Tbl Crisco. Add 3/4 Cup Warm Milk. Stir together and knead gently for a few minutes. It's a very soft dough. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
While dough is resting, on stove, preheat skillet over medium heat while preheating outdoor grill. Season a 1 1/2 lb Sirloin Steak with S&P. Julienne 1 Large Bell Pepper and 1 Onion. Add Olive Oil and lightly brown vegetables.
Next, make a quick Pico de Gallo. To a bowl add, 1 Diced Large Tomato, 1/2 Red Onion, finely died and a minced Jalapeno Pepper. Add the Juice of a Lime, 1 pressed Clove of Garlic, Chopped Cilantro and S&P to taste. Place Sour Cream in a separate bowl.
Divide dough into 8 equal balls and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Grill steak to medium rare or medium.
Preheat griddle top to 350. Using as little flour as possible, roll out dough to thin rounds. The dough is stretchy so you have to roll it quite thin to get it to stay. I used a pastry cloth to help with this.
Add a small amount of Olive Oil to griddle and cook 2 tortillas at a time, browning dough lightly on each side. If you cook these too dark, they will not bend easily for fajitas. As they are done, place on plate with a paper towel in between to keep hot and prevent moisture from making them soggy.
Let steak rest and slice very thinly. Let each person top their own fijitas.
With leftover ingredients, make quesadillas. Preheat skillet and butter 1 side of the tortilla and place in pan buttered side down. Top with grated cheese, steak, peppers and onion and cheese again. Add another totilla buttered side up. Cook both sides until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

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