"Remember - not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck."
Robert Rodriguez
With Remembrance Day behind us, it is time to turn our attention to the hype and hysteria that is the Christmas shopping season. For the comic book or pop culture fan on your gift list, consider the
holiday edition of Ottawa Comiccom as a one-stop shopping spot. And what better way to fuel up for your shopping trip than to eat food that fueled director Robert Rodriguez and the actors of one the best comic book movies ever made, "Sin City". As mentioned in the DVD extras, Rodriguez would whip up a batch of these tacos in between takes and editing sessions. They work as a great breakfast or as a snack while reading graphic novels or watching your favourite comic book come to life on the screen.
Ingredients: TORTILLAS (Note: You can use store-bought flour tortillas, but Rodriguez recommends against it, as he considers them "garbage".)
475
g unbleached white flour
175
mL warm water
60
g butter, softened to room temperature or 30
g butter and 30
g lard
2.5
g salt
2.5
g baking powder
bacon drippings (optional)
Ingredients: TACOS OR MIGAS FILLING
5-6 eggs, lightly beaten
2 corn tortillas, cut up into strips slices
1 large potato, peeled and diced small
1 large tomato, diced
1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
1 green jalapeno, minced
corn oil, for frying
butter, for frying
salt and pepper, to taste
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in the butter (or butter and lard) using a pastry blender or by hand until everything is incorporated and coarse, like wet sand. Add 3/4 of the warm water and using your hands or a fork, form the mixture into a dough that's not too sticky and not too dry. If it's too sticky, add more flour; if it's too dry, add more water.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until it's no longer sticky; the dough should feel smooth, elastic and not dry. Divide the dough up into 8-10 golfball-sized balls and arrange them on a baking sheet. Lightly dampen a tea towel with warm water, cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes while you make the taco filling.
- Heat up about 30 mL of corn oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat and fry the potatoes until they're soft but not crispy. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste, then transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. In the same pan, heat up another 30 mL of corn oil and fry the tomato, onion, and jalapeno until the onion begins to soften. Remove everything from the pan, set the food aside and keep everything warm.
- In the same pan, heat up some more oil (30 mL) and fry up the corn tortilla strips until they're crispy. Set the tortilla strips aside on a paper towel-lined plate and let them drain. Using the same pan, heat up about 30 g of butter and lightly scramble the eggs. Combine the tomato mixture, corn tortillas strips and eggs on a platter. Set aside and keep warm.
- Using a combination of your hands and a rolling pin, shape the flour tortillas into thin round circles about 15 cm in diameter (now would be the time to use a tortilla press if you have one handy). Heat up a cast-iron skillet on medium heat (if you have some, you can add a small amount of bacon drippings to the skillet to cook the tortillas). Cook the tortillas until bubbles form and brown specks appear, about 1 minute. Turn over and cook the other side for about another minute. Continue cooking all the flour tortillas in the same manner. Keep tortillas warm, stacking them one on top of the other until ready to serve. Do not allow to dry out - use a dampened tea towel or a tortilla warmer if you have one to keep the tortillas pliable.
- To serve, divide the potato/egg mixture onto the flour tortillas. Fold in half and eat.
