a round, thin unleavened bread made from ground maize, a basic food of Mesoamerica. It is not known for how many millennia this has been a staple; but when the conquistadores arrived in the New World in the late 15th century, they discovered that the inhabitants made flat corn breads. The native Nahuatl name for these was tlaxcalli and the Spanish gave them the name tortilla.
Making the basic tortilla is simple, at least in theory. First a dough is made. To do this, the maize kernels are parched and cooked briefly in a mixture of unslaked lime and water. This step (see nixtamalization) loosens the husks, increases the nutritional content of the grain, and ensures that a flexible flat bread can be made. Then the corn is ground into a dough called masa in Mexico (a commercial product called masa harina, a flour made from the prepared kernels, can be mixed with water to make tortillas when corn is unavailable). The dough is shaped between the hands, or patted out on a flat surface, or stamped out with a special press. The tortillas are then cooked on a hot, ungreased griddle. They should be speckled with brown, and puff up when turned, but remain soft and pliable—rather like an Indian chapati.
The art of tortilla-making was highly developed by the native Mesoamericans; one 17th-century Spanish observer, Francisco Hernández, remarked on the fine, almost transparent tortillas prepared for important people. The province of Oaxaca is known for the thinnest; those made in Guadalajara are thick, and the startling colour of blue corn is carefully preserved in tortillas made in the mountains of C. Mexico. Wheat flour, introduced by the Spanish, is used in the north of the country.
Fresh tortillas are eaten as bread, used as plate and spoon, or filled to make composite dishes such as tacos and enchiladas. These are described in their basic forms below, but their fillings may involve selections made from items such as shredded cooked meat, frijoles refritos (refried beans), fish, scrambled eggs, or crumbled chorizo (see sausages of Spain); cheese or sour cream; guacamole (avocado purée), shredded lettuce, sliced onion, other vegetables; and a salsa (sauce). This last item comes in two main fresh versions (each with many variations): salsa roja, onions, garlic, serrano chillies all toasted on a griddle and then ground together with salt and herbs; and salsa verde, Mexican ‘tomates’ (green tomatoes) plus the same ingredients treated in the same way. Herbs used could be coriander or oregano.
A taco, in Mexico, is a fresh tortilla rolled around mashed beans, shredded meat, and sauce. It can be lightly fried after filling, and is eaten as a snack or an appetiser. In the tex-mex cuisine of the USA, a taco denotes a tortilla bent in half, deep fried to give a U shape, and filled with minced beef, shredded lettuce, and grated cheese.
An enchilada is also a tortilla rolled around a filling of meat, vegetables, or cheese; it differs from a taco in that the tortilla is fried and dipped in a piquant tomato sauce before the filling is added. Alternatively, the tortillas can be dipped in sauce and then fried. This is a main course for a main meal.
A quesadilla is a ‘turnover’ made by folding a fresh tortilla in half around a simple filling such as cheese, epazote (a pungent herb), and pepper, or potatoes and chorizo, and deep-frying it. This is just a snack.
Stale but not dried-out tortillas can be converted into tostadas by frying them and serving with some kind of topping—melted cheese, guacamole, fried beans, or shredded meat and salad. Or they are cut into wedges and fried until crisp to make totopos or tostaditas. Nachos are corn chips spread with cheese and Jalapeño peppers. Mexicans also cut dry tortillas into squares, fry them, and use in place of croutons in soup; or cut them into strips and make concoctions reminiscent of pasta dishes.
Tortilla dough is often used to make small snack items, collectively known as antojitos (little whims). These range from simple fried dough chips flavoured with chillies or cheese, to little balls filled with fried beans, and chalupas, little boat shapes with fillings (although in the north of Mexico, a chalupa is a tostada). The range is vast. Cooking may be on the griddle or by frying.
See also tamales; and see omelette for tortilla in another meaning.
Laura Mason has written about several aspects of British food in books including Sugar Plums and Sherbet (1998), Farmhouse Cookery (2005), and Traditional Foods of Britain (1999), which she co-authored with Catherine Brown.
Coe, Sophie (1994), America's First Cuisines, Austin: University of Texas Press.
Kennedy, Diana (1975), The Tortilla Book, New York: Harper & Row.
