I love holidays. (But who doesn’t?) You occasionally get the day off from work and, more importantly, you can indulge in a range of festive cuisines. In fact, for me, holidays often revolve around menu planning. I’ll sometimes spend weeks perusing recipes, gathering inspiration for the big day.
Other times, I’ll cook holiday fare on a whim. After running across so many delicious Cinco de Mayo recipes recently, I decided to make Mexican turkey and bean bowls over the weekend. As an appetizer, I whipped up a batch of pico de gallo and homemade tortilla chips to go with it.
Making tortilla chips from scratch is a bit labor intensive, but it’s time well spent in my opinion. You can customize the flavor, shape and size to your liking – and they’re better for your waistline. For example, I used coconut oil versus lard or vegetable shortening in the dough and baked instead of fried the chips. They were amazing. The coconut oil lends a very subtle nutty flavor to the chips, which pair perfectly with the piquant pico de gallo.
Recipes adapted from Epicurious and Two Peas and Their Pod.
- ¾ pound tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup finely diced white onion
- 1 small fresh jalapeño, finely diced (remove seeds for a milder salsa)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Season with additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir well and drain any excess liquid that has accumulated in the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Add coconut oil and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse meal.
- Add the water and cilantro, if using, and mix with a fork. When the ingredients start to come together, use your hands to lightly knead the dough in the bowl until it forms a ball.
- Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Place the dough in a bowl, cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into quarters. Then divide each quarter into thirds. You should have 12 equal dough portions. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough portion into a circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter.
- Heat a fry pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Cook the tortillas until they start to puff up and are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly browned on the other side. Place tortillas on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm while you make the rest of the tortillas.
- To make chips, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each tortilla into eighths and lay wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Bake chips for 10-12 minutes until golden, rotating sheet halfway through.
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