The real deal
I admit it. I used to be addicted to flour tortillas. It all started when I was young and I discovered how good they were spread with thick layers of peanut butter and jelly and rolled up for lunch. Not the most traditional filling, but that discovery ignited a years-long tortilla habit.
Meg and I didn’t have a lot of money to splurge on groceries in college. So we didn’t return from our shopping trips with much to get excited about. But man, you should have seen me hustle down the hill from campus the nights quesadillas were on the menu. Plain jane as they were — just cheese dotted with a couple veggies — the meal easily outshone anything else we’d cook up the rest of the week.
Even after graduation — when I had a few more dollars in my pocket — those packets of flour tortillas remained a permanent staple in my fridge. Often they were snatched straight from the fridge and eaten plain as I ran out the door to work.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I knew corn tortillas existed. I’d see those round, runty little stacks as I fetched my flour version. They hardly seemed adequate to hold the massive amounts of stuffing I would subject them to.
I did notice a lot of other people couldn’t pass them by. The small shipment my store received were stalked like celebrities by crazed corn tortilla fans. I’d say one quarter of the complaints I’d hear in the year I manned the customer service desk were: “How can you be out of Maria y Ricardo’s tortillas!”
So one day I broke my habit and brought a pack home to try. And I fell, HARD. They’re a little drier than the flour version… but they also have a much richer flavor and are a lot lighter.
As far as I’m concerned, you can wrap any vegetable, bean or grain in one of these bad boys and call it a meal.
Now I live in a different neighborhood, halfway across the country. You can find flour tortillas here, too. But there absolutely no rival to their humble corn cousins.
On the weekends I take a long walk, usually to hunt down a cup of decent coffee. It seems like every block or so the scent of fresh corn tortillas hangs on the icy air. Tiny taquerias dot Milwaukee avenue, along with the sidewalk vendors who always draw a crowd, no matter how cold it gets.
The market in this neighborhood never runs out of my new favorite wrap. Whenever the mood hits, I can slip out, stroll a couple blocks and pick up two warm packages for less than a dollar.
And turns out those defrosted, preservative-filled tortillas from back east have nothin’ on the made-just-this-morning variety.
This little recipe was inspired by a coworker back in Vermont. It’s not your typical Mexican-style filling. Just 3 simple ingredients and 20 minutes at the stove and you can call everyone to dinner.
The sharp tanginess of the feta balances out the earthy kale. The quality of the cheese makes or breaks this dish, so go ahead, splurge on the good stuff.
Kale and Feta Tortillas
Not much to put on the shopping list, but you may want to buy extra because these tortillas get eaten fast.
1 bunch kale, washed well - but not dried - and cut into small pieces
1 8 oz block of good feta
1 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
2 packages of fresh corn tortillas
freshly ground pepper, to taste
Heat up the oil over medium high heat and saute the garlic for 1 -2 minutes, until soft. Add the kale and bring the heat down to medium. Gently saute for 15 minutes or so. Add a couple tablespoons of water if the kale or garlic begins to dry out and stick to the pan.
While the kale is cooking, heat the tortillas. I just throw them one at a time on a hot non-stick skillet, turning over once until both sides are well heated through. Keep them wrapped in tinfoil so they stay nice and hot.
Once the kale is to your desired tenderness, you’re ready for assembly. Lay a generous spoonful of the kale garlic mix on your tortilla, then add a hearty sprinkle of feta. Top with cracked pepper, roll up, eat.
Once you take a bite you’ll notice why it’s important to cut the kale up into small pieces. Larger leaves will slip out of your tortilla in one go, which isn’t a terrible thing. But the filling is so good paired with the corn tortilla you’ll want some to go with every bite.
If you can’t get your hands on fresh kale, spinach or chard works just as well.
