Wrapped Up in Corn

Most of us buy machine-made corn tortillas packed in cold, stiff, flat stacks inside antiseptic plastic wrap.

Imagine instead tortillas shaped by human hands and grilled slowly to perfect brown-speckled doneness. Stuffed loosely into a sack while still too hot to touch, they overpower you with lush, mellow corn aroma. And you can’t resist tearing into them at once.

So where do you get such tortillas? On the back roads of Mexico? Of course. I remember the meaty, plate-size tortillas that came with lunch in a small town in Oaxaca. But you can also get them right in the center of Los Angeles.

Over in Pico-Union, the tortillas can be glorious. We bought some from La Adelita Food Co. No. 1, where you choose between super-thick Salvadoran-style or thin Mexican tortillas. While we waited, a young woman moistened a pile of dough and kneaded it until the texture was just right. Then she shaped tennis ball-sized lumps into circles, pressing each on a round of blue plastic to gauge the size. These Salvadoran tortillas were so thick it took some time to cook them through on the big black grill.

Meanwhile, we could study the bins where dried corn, soon to be ground into masa , was soaking. As we watched, the production line geared up, and thin, everyday tortillas came flopping off a conveyor belt to be counted and packed by hand. Our handmade specials cost six times as much, but they were worth it. We demolished them quickly in The Times Test Kitchen, tearing off thick strips that we wrapped taco-style around avocado chunks, adding a bit of crumbled ranchero cheese and a dash of hot sauce.

Tortillas are indeed addictive. Every so often a letter comes from someone who has moved away and absolutely has to have them. They write from Norway, Indonesia, Malawi and the East Coast of the United States. And they plead for a recipe that will enable them somehow to reproduce the tortillas they remember.

Well, it’s no easy job. I tried making tortillas once, only once. I cooked dried corn with a chunk of white lime (calcium oxide), which in Mexico is called cal , until the skins loosened. After rubbing these off, I ground the corn on a metate-- a well-used grinding stone that had come out of central Mexico after the revolution of 1910. Muscles aching and brow feverish, I ground and ground and ground. The lump of dough that I produced was too coarse for tortillas, a Mexican friend said. Possibly, it would do for tamales.

There is an easier alternative--commercial instant masa flour. All you do is add water, then press out the tortillas between sheets of plastic inside a tortilla press. A visitor from Mexico City, cooking in a friend’s kitchen, used a heavy saucepan as a press, and that worked well too.

Tortilla lovers seem to divide into two camps: those who insist on corn tortillas, and those who prefer flour. Flour tortillas are traditional for burritos, but sometimes they invade realms normally dominated by corn tortillas, like enchiladas. And both types are used for quesadillas.

If you’re avoiding fats, corn tortillas are definitely the better choice. They contain no added fat, whereas authentic flour tortillas depend on lard or shortening for tender texture. On the other hand, corn tortillas are often fried to make chips, taco shells, tostada bases and taquitos or to soften them for enchiladas. So perhaps it comes out even.

The recipes to the right and on H8 employ corn tortillas only. They come from Mexican-Americans and from restaurants in Mexico where corn, along with beans and chiles, is a staple food.

TORTILLAS DIPPED IN BLACK BEAN PUREE (Enfrijoladas)

Graphic artist Nancy Zaslavsky of Venice has lived in central and southern Mexico. She’s compiled the recipes of cooks in those regions in a book, “A Cook’s Tour of Mexico,” due out this fall. The recipes include Oaxacan black beans--frijoles parrados--and enfrijoladas, which are tortillas coated with beans instead of enchilada sauce. “Oaxacan black beans are always soupy,” Nancy says. “Never let the liquid boil away.” ENFRIJOLADAS Frijoles Parrados

Chicken broth

1/4 cup lard or vegetable oil

12 corn tortillas

16 white onion slices

1/2 cup ranchero cheese, dry cottage cheese or farmer cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

Puree Frijoles Parrados and thin to heavy cream consistency with chicken broth. Heat oil in heavy skillet. Place each tortilla in hot oil 10 to 20 seconds on each side. Tortilla should remain pliable and not crunchy.

Holding by upper edge, dip each tortilla in bean sauce. Place on plate and fold in half, then in half again to make triangle. Repeat with remaining tortillas, placing 2 on each plate. Spoon additional sauce over tortillas, top with onion slices, cheese and parsley. FRIJOLES PARRADOS

1 pound dry black beans

6 cups water

2 sprigs fresh epazote or 2 tablespoons dried

1 medium white onion, cut in half

Juice 2 small limes or 1 large lime

Salt

Pick over beans, discarding any pebbles. Rinse in strainer. Place beans in medium pot, add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 1 to 2 hours, or until skins break easily when stirred. Cooking time depends on age of beans. Old beans take longer to cook.

Add epazote and onion 10 minutes before beans are done. Squeeze lime juice over beans and stir. Add salt just before serving to prevent beans from toughening.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving of Enfrijoladas contains about:

501 calories; 264 mg sodium; 11 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 76 grams carbohydrates; 23 grams protein; 6.14 grams fiber.

Each serving of Frijoles Parrados contains about:

270 calories; 54 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 4.11 grams fiber.

TORTILLA SOUP CAREYES

8 to 10 corn tortillas

Oil

3 tomatoes

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic

2 quarts chicken stock

1 sprig fresh epazote

Salt, pepper

3 dried pasilla chiles

3 chicken breast halves, cooked and julienned

1 1/2 cups crumbled queso ranchero

2 avocados, cubed

Chopped cilantro

Lime or lemon wedges

Sour cream

Here is classic tortilla soup--clear broth with shreds of chicken, diced avocado, pasilla chiles and fried tortilla strips. The recipe comes from Sergio Verduzco, executive chef of Hotel Bel-Air Costa Careyes, which is located on the west coast of Mexico two hours south of Puerto Vallarta. Simmer the chicken to make the broth or use leftover chicken.

Cut tortillas in thin strips. Heat oil for frying in skillet. Add tortillas and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Roast tomatoes, onion half and garlic separately under broiler about 10 minutes for tomatoes and onion, less for garlic. Peel charred skin off tomatoes. Dice, discarding seeds. Mince onion and garlic. Puree tomatoes, onion and garlic together in food processor.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan. Add vegetables and simmer 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, epazote and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes. Cut pasilla chiles crosswise in rings. Fry in oil 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.

Ladle soup into large individual bowls. Add some chicken, tortillas, chiles, cheese, avocado, cilantro, 1 lime wedge and dollop of sour cream to each.

Makes 6 large servings.

Each serving contains about:

540 calories; 1,388 mg sodium; 60 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 32 grams protein; 3.15 grams fiber.

LEONORA’S CHILAQUILES

For a wonderful brunch dish, try tortillas and eggs--chilaquiles. The recipe comes from Leonora Gutierrez of South Pasadena, who learned the procedure from her mother, Luz Maria Gutierrez. An interesting touch is the combining of red tomatoes and green tomatillos in the salsa.

Oil for frying

2 cloves garlic

12 corn tortillas, cut in 1-inch squares

8 eggs

1/4 onion, sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon oregano

1/2 cup grated Cotija cheese or shredded Jack cheese

Heat oil with garlic in skillet. Add tortilla squares and fry until golden brown. Drain tortillas on paper towels. Remove oil and garlic. Return tortillas to pan.

Add unbeaten eggs, stir lightly and cook until eggs are almost done. Add sliced onion, stir in Salsa and turn off heat. Combine chopped onion with oregano. Serve onion mixture and cheese in separate bowls to add to chilaquiles as desired. SALSA

4 small to medium tomatoes

2 tomatillos, husks removed

4 to 6 serrano chiles

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic

Salt

Roast tomatoes, tomatillos and chiles on griddle until softened.

Put in blender with onion, garlic and salt to taste. Blend until smooth.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each of 4 servings contains about:

581 calories; 445 mg sodium; 437 mg cholesterol; 32 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 25 grams protein; 4.48 grams fiber.