Crispy Homemade Tortilla Chips And Salsa



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Homemade tortilla chips, from homemade tortillas, are so easy and the taste is far superior to those things in a bag. It is said that American's favorite flavor is "crisp". That explains why chips and salsa are so popular in the US.

Habanero Tortilla Chips and Salsa RojaHabanero Tortilla Chips and Salsa Roja

Homemade Tortillas With Habanero

Tortilla ingredients

Mise en place for my tortillas. Water, masa, and chilies.

I reserved a little of the chile water and substituted it for some of the water in the masa. I really like the habanero flavor.

Masa dough for tortillas

Combine the masa, chilies, and water. Work the masa with your hands to make the dough. Work the dough for several minutes. Press the dough with your fingers and the palms of your hands as if you were kneading bread dough.

Tortilla press with masa ball

Roll the masa into 1 inch balls. Line the bottom plate of your tortilla press with plastic film. Place a masa ball in the middle of the film, and place a second sheet of film over the ball.

Pressing homemade tortillas

Press firmly with the press. Remove the tortilla, gently, from the film.

Tortillas cooking on a comal

See all the yummy habanero chilies in the dough, can't wait to try them.

Place tortillas on a hot comal and cook until done, turning halfway through. About 30 to 45 seconds per side.

Homemade tortilla chipsHomemade tortilla chips

Cut the tortillas into any size chips that you want.

Frying the tortilla chips

One of the key points when you're deep frying, anything for that matter, is not overcrowding the pot. If you overcrowd the pot, by adding too many chips, the oil temperature drops too much and then the homemade tortilla chips will be greasy soggy tortilla chips.

Homemade Tortilla Chips

  • Yield: 12 tortillas
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes

Equipment

  • Tortilla Press
    Deep fryer or 4-quart saucepan and deep fry thermometer

Ingredients

  • 120 grams / 4.25 ounces masa flour
  • 130 grams / 4.5 ounces warm water
  • 2 dried habanero chilies, optional
  • Peanut oil for deep frying
  • Fine sea salt, to finish

Method

For The Chilies (If using them)

  1. Place dried chilies in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.
  2. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes, until soft and pliable.
  3. Remove chilies, discarding the water. Mince the chilies and set aside. Alternatively, you can save the chile water and substitute some of the water called for in the masa recipe with some of the chile water, like I did.

For The Tortillas

  1. Combine the masa flour and chilies - if using, to a medium bowl.  
  2. Add the water to the masa flour (according to the directions on the package, some brands may call for different amounts of water). Mix in and let sit for 5 minutes or so. 
  3. Begin working the masa with your hands to make the dough. Work the dough for several minutes. Press the dough with your fingers and the palms of your hands as if you were kneading bread dough.
  4. If at any point through the tortilla making process the dough seems too dry or too wet, add a little more water or masa to the dough. 
  5. Roll the masa into 1 inch balls.
  6. Line the bottom plate of your tortilla press with plastic film. Place a masa ball in the middle of the film, and place a second sheet of film over the ball. Press firmly with the press. Remove the tortilla, gently, from the film.
  7. Place tortillas on a hot comal and cook until done, turning halfway through. About 30 to 45 seconds per side.

For The Homemade Tortilla Chips

  1. Allow tortillas to cool and cut into wedges. 6 to 8 wedges depending on the size of the tortillas.
  2. Fry the chips in peanut oil at 360°F. until golden brown and crisp. Remove to paper towels and drain. Season with fine sea salt.
  3. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot.

Notes

  1. Working with chilies is all about managing heat. Capsaicin is present in all parts of the pepper but it is concentrated in the pith. You can greatly reduce the heat factor by removing the pith and seeds. In addition, the seeds tend to be bitter.
  2. Those quart size freezer storage bags work great for pressing tortillas. Just cut the 4 sides off and you have 2 equal sized sheets for your tortilla press.
  3. When you work with chilies, particularly very hot chilies, you may want to use gloves.
  4. This recipe produces a chip that is a little thicker and heartier than you find with tortilla chips from grocery stores.

Salsa Roja

My homemade salsa recipe is a variant of pico de gallo that I turn into salsa roja, or literally red salsa. I like pico de gallo but traditionally it is a dry salsa. By that I mean there is very little juice from the tomatoes and lime. By turning it into salsa roja it pulls out the liquid in the vegetables and marries the flavors far better.

Salsa

Salsa

  • Yield: about 1-1/2 cups
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes

Equipment

  • Molcajete or food processor
    Mixing bowl
Salsa ingredientsMise En Place for Salsa

Ingredients

  • 1/4 medium white onion - diced 
    1 clove garlic - minced 
    2 serrano chilies - seeded and minced 
    1 habanero chile - seeded and minced
  • 1/4 bunch cilantro - picked 
    5 roma tomatoes - diced 
    1 lime - juiced
    Kosher salt, to taste

Method

  1. Add the onion, garlic, and chilies to the bowl of a molcajete. Grind until it becomes a chunky paste.
  2. Add the cilantro and tomatoes and work it into a chunky salsa. Stir in the lime juice and season to taste with kosher salt.

Notes

  1. For the very best flavor let the salsa marry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes after making it.
  2. For a really nice presentation serve the salsa in the bowl of the molcajete, alongside a plate mounded with fresh chips.
  3. This can be made by hand simply by combining all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stirring or tossing to thoroughly combine them.
  4. You can make this recipe in a food processor. Just add the onion, garlic, chilies, and cilantro to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse it several times until it becomes a chunky paste. Add the tomatoes and lime juice and pulse until it has a salsa consistency. Season to taste with kosher salt.

Tags: homemade tortilla chips, homemade salsa recipe, homemade tortillas, salsa roja, pico de gallo recipe