Chicken Quesadillas + Homemade 100% Corn Tortillas

Ok, it took a little longer than expected but I'm getting there with the chicken recipes!  The first is a gluten free quesadilla recipe made using home-made tortillas.  You heard me: home-made! It's sounds more daunting than it should, and as with anything made from scratch, it is worth the little bit of extra effort.

I first taught myself how to make tortillas after I chanced upon some tortilla flour in a bulk food store.  The flour used to make tortillas and corn chips is different to anything I've worked with before; it's called masa harina and it is made from corn. It's prepared very differently from corn flour or polenta: the corn kernels are treated with an alkaline solution that, basically, affects the cell walls of the corn in such a way that it is able to form a dough when mixed with water. The chemistry is quite interesting to read about if you're into that kind of thing but the main takeaway is that you can't sub in regular corn meal!  I haven't seen masa flour in supermarkets, but I have seen it at Bin Inn and in online stores so it's not too hard to get hold of. 

Making my own tortillas was an awesome culinary breakthrough for me, since I have had trouble finding 100% corn (i.e. wheat-free) tortillas that aren't also crazy expensive, and because I love making any kind of food from scratch!  These are not hard to make at all, and while it might take you a bit of practice to find a technique that works for you to get the tortillas thin and flexible, eating the "practice" tortillas is not something I'd complain about in a hurry! If you get any real duds (fingers crossed no!), maybe a too-thick tortilla that won't bend or a too-thin tortilla that breaks apart, you can always cut them up and fry or bake them with some olive oil for home-made corn chips.

I am only using my phone's camera to visually document these recipes and the light was fading fast so I didn't get the greatest snaps, however I wanted to provide photos to show you what the dough should look like and to better demonstrate how I roll it out.  I assure you the final product is much prettier in real life, and regardless, you musn't judge a book by its cover, nor a quesadilla by its amateur photographic representation.

Gluten Free Chicken Quesadillas (makes 10, serves 2)

Tortillas

Ingredients
1 cup masa harina
3/4 cup hot water

You will also need a glass mixing bowl and/or a rolling pin, two sheets of non-stick baking paper, a non-stick frying pan, a plate and a slightly damp tea-towel at the ready.

Method
Mix the masa flour and water with a wooden spoon, then knead by hand until the mixture is no longer sticky and has formed a springy dough. Cover and set aside for 1/2 an hour. Keep the dough covered throughout the cooking process to prevent it drying and cracking. If it does get a little dry, use your hands to sprinkle a little water on top to re-wet.

prepped and ready to go

Heat a dry, non-stick frying pan to a medium-high heat.
Take a tablespoon-sized amount of dough and form it into a smooth ball with your hands.
You need to flatten this into a thin tortilla. There are a few ways to do this, but I find the best way is to place the dough ball between two sheets of non-stick paper and press down on the dough with a glass mixing bowl.  This way I can see how flat the tortilla is through the base of the bowl.  You need the dough to be quite thin so that the final tortilla is flexible which means you may need to use a rolling pin to flatten it further.  Once the tortilla is thin enough it will be fragile, so be very careful in peeling away the baking paper.

Seeing the flattened tortilla through the mixing bowl

Additionally flattened and ready for the pan

Place the flattened and shaped dough in the hot pan and cook for no more than one minute on each side.

Start small, and make bigger tortillas when you feel more confident!

Place the cooked tortilla on the prepped plate under the tea towel for it to steam and soften.
Continue shaping, cooking and storing the tortillas.
The cooked tortillas will keep better than the raw dough, so cook the full batch at once.

omnomnom

Filling
Ingredients
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1/4 cup grated cheese

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chilli
1/2 tsp cumin
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 tin of diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup chopped vegetables you have lying around e.g. corn, capsicum

Method
To make the salsa, heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat. 
Add the paprika, chilli, cumin and the garlic and rotate in the pan until the garlic is softened and the spices fragrant.
Add the chopped vegetables and cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and oregano. Stir well and turn the heat to low. Allow to simmer and reduce for 10-15 minutes, while you cook the quesadillas.

construction time

 
To make the quesadillas, heat a greased frying pan to medium-high heat.
Lay one tortilla flat on a board and sprinkle one half with grated cheese, then add a layer of chicken, then another layer of cheese and finally fold the tortilla in half. You absolutely need to double up the cheese as this is the glue that will hold the quesadilla together.
Carefully lever it into the pan and cook for about one minute on each side until the filling is melty and the tortillas crispy.

You were warned! Ugly but delicious

You can either serve the hot salsa on the side, or scoop spoonfuls into the cooked quesdillas as I did in the above photo.
Enjoy!