< Previous8 TACO S A -Z 2.Heat a 2-burner griddle over medium-high heat and medium-low heat or heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with part of the pan set off center to create a 2-zone cook- ing area. Place a clean dish towel or cloth napkin near the stove to hold the tortillas. 3.Cut a zip-top freezer bag apart to create 2 separate sides. Put one dough ball in between the sheets of the plastic bag and roll a rolling pin over it or press down with a clear pie plate until the dough has formed a round that is approximately 6-inches in diameter. 4.Remove the top sheet of plastic and flip the tortilla into your palm. Peel off the plastic and lay the tortilla on the cool side of the grill. Cook until the tortilla looks dry and opaque white around the edges, about 1 minute. Flip the tortilla onto the hot side of the grill and cook on the second side until it looks dry around the edges, 20 seconds. Flip again back to the first (browned) side and cook on the hot side of the griddle/pan for a few seconds; the tortilla will puff up a bit. Press down gently with the spatula to encourage brown spots on the bottom. 5.Wrap the tortilla in the waiting towel or napkin. The trapped steam will continue to cook the tortilla as it rests. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and let them stand for 5 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or cool and store in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. TACO TIPS To reheat the tortillas, put them in a plastic bag, add a wadded-up moist paper towel to the bag, and microwave on high heat for 1 min- ute. Alternatively, wrap the tortillas in a clean towel and steam them in a steamer over simmering water until warmed, 5 minutes. V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 8V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 82/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PM9 Homemade Flour Tortillas m a k e s 8 t o 9 ( 6 - i n c h ) t o r t i l l a s Once you make homemade flour tortillas and see how easy (and fun) it is, you’ll never go back to the stale store-bought tortillas. Adding a bit of fat in whatever form you’d like—butter, coconut oil, olive oil, bacon drippings, lard, ghee—makes the dough exceptionally pliable and easy to work with. The trick is to get the water to flour ratio right, adding water a tablespoon at a time if the dough cracks when you roll it out. INGREDIENTS 2 cups (8½ ounces) all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, lard, bacon drippings, coconut oil, shortening, or room temperature butter ⅓ to ½ cup hot water INSTRUCTIONS 1.Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the fat and rub it into the flour with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine pebbles. Add ⅓ cup of water and stir and knead until the dough comes together. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if the dough seems dry. 2.Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled counter and knead until smooth, 1 minute. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Press a small ball of dough into a 3-inch disk with your hands; if the dough develops cracks around the edges and feels dry, knead a little more water into the dough, 1 tablespoon at a time. V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 9V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 92/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PMV2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 10V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 102/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PM11 F OU N DAT ION S 3.Divide the dough into 8 balls, about the size of a golf ball. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Put a clean dish towel next to the stove to keep the tortillas warm as you cook them. 4.Roll dough balls into 6-inch round tortillas (don’t get peevish if your tortillas aren’t per- fectly round as they’ll be perfectly delicious, and that’s what matters). Cook the tortillas in batches on the hot skillet, occasionally pressing down gently with a wadded-up napkin to make sure they’re evenly cooked on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip the tortillas and cook on the second side until browned in places, 1 minute. Wrap the tortillas in the towel and repeat with the remaining dough. Serve immediately. TACO TIPS The finished dough can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge; just pinch off what you need to make tortillas on the fly. A NOTE ABOUT CRISPY TACO SHELLS I have made homemade crispy taco shells. It’s a nifty project, but it requires a lot of finesse, time, and they must be eaten immediately while they’re still hot—so they’re not convenient for family meals as you can only fry about two at a time. For these reasons, I recommend using packaged crispy taco shells for the recipes in this book. The secret to making the crispy shells great is to toast them in a 350°F oven until they’re warm, about 5 minutes. This quick trip to the oven eradicates any staleness and adds a lovely crunch. V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 11V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 112/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PM<006_ch2_Ch2Opening.tif> V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 12V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 122/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PMC H AP T ER 2 THE ALPHABET OF TACOS Avocado Fry Tacos with Sriracha Mayo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Homemade Ranch Dressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Chocolate-Dipped Ice Cream Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Duck Tacos with Orange Ginger Radish Salsa and Chili Crisp . . . . . . . . . . . xx English Breakfast Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Fish and Chips Tacos with Pea Guacamole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Greek-Style Lamb Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Hawaiian Grilled Chicken Tacos with Spicy Pineapple Salsa . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Irish Nachos Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Jerk Salmon Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Korean Kalbi Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Linguica, Kale, and Potato Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Mole Chicken Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx New Mexican Chile-Dipped Chicken Taquitos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Oyster Tacos with Celery Root Remoulade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Pork Tenderloin Tacos with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Quinoa and Veggie Double Tacos with Guacamole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Royale with Cheese Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Seafood Ceviche Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx That ’70s Taco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Umami Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Vindaloo Pork Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Watercress and Flank Steak Thai-Inspired Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx XO Shrimp and Cheese Toasty Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Yellowtail Tacos with Mango-Avocado Salsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Za’atar Chicken Tacos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 13V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 132/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PMV2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 14V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 142/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PM15 Avocado Fry Tacos with Sriracha Mayo s e r v e s 4 Breading slices of avocado and pan-frying them gives you an incredible textural mouthful: first crispy breading (crushed Cool Ranch Doritos #FTW), then cool, creamy avocado. Do try it, even if you think it sounds odd; avocado fries are absolutely one of the best taco fillings. I mix convenient bagged coleslaw with creamy sweet-spicy Sriracha mayonnaise, but bottled Sriracha mayo is available too. Be sure to use avocados that are still a little firm; very ripe avocados will fall apart when handled. INGREDIENTS ½ cup flour ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 3 eggs, beaten 6 cups (about 6 ounces) Cool Ranch Doritos or regular corn tortilla chips 2 large medium-firm avocados 1 cup avocado or safflower oil 3 cups bagged coleslaw shredded cabbage mix ½ cup Sriracha Mayo (page XX) 8 (6-inch) homemade corn or flour tortillas, or packaged tortillas, warmed 1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced California ripe black olives, drained INSTRUCTIONS 1.Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and set aside. 2.Set up a breading station: Mix the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. Beat the eggs in a large, shallow bowl. Put the Doritos or corn chips in a plastic bag and use the flat V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 15V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 152/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PM16 TACO S A -Z side of a meat mallet or rolling pin to smash the chips until they are the texture of panko breadcrumbs. Pour the crumbs onto a dinner plate. 3.Cut the avocado in half and gently squeeze the half with the pit until it falls out of the avocado. Use a large serving spoon to gently scoop the avocado halves out of their skins in one piece. Cut the avocado lengthwise into ½- to 1-inch-wide slices. 4.Pour the oil into a large (12-to-14-inch) skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering and a test tortilla chip added to the oil turns golden brown within 4 seconds. While the oil is heating, bread about half of the avocado slices. 5.First, dredge the avocado in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Next, dip the slices in the beaten egg, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Then place the slices on the plate with the crushed Doritos. Spoon some crumbs over the top of the avocados and press so the slices are coated all over in crumbs. 6.Fry the avocado slices in batches without crowding, carefully flipping them once while cooking, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon or spatula to the prepared cooling rack/baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while frying the remaining avocado slices. 7.Mix the slaw mix with the Sriracha mayo in a small bowl. Put 2 to 3 slices of avocado in each tortilla and top with the slaw and olives. Serve immediately. TACO TIPS The avocado fries can be cooked in batches in an air fryer set to 350°F. Mist the avocado fries generously with avocado or olive oil spray and cook for 3 minutes per side. V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 16V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 162/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PM17 Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Homemade Ranch Dressing s e r v e s 4 Hot wings are awesome. So is homemade ranch dressing. Put the two together in a taco, and you’ve got yourself an ideal meal to trot out for your next big game-watching party. Frozen breaded chicken tenders stand in for the bone-in wings here, so it’s not exactly authentic “wings,” but the flavors—zippy hot wing sauce, cooling salad with celery dressed in creamy ranch dressing—are 100 percent Buffalo. INGREDIENTS For the ranch: ¼ cup buttermilk ¼ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup sour cream 1 tablespoon chives ½ teaspoon dried dill ¼ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon celery salt ⅛ teaspoon pepper For the tacos: 24 ounces frozen breaded chicken tenders (such as Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips) 2 cups mixed baby greens 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced ⅓ cup Frank’s Red Hot Wings Buffalo sauce, plus more for serving 8 (6-inch) homemade corn tortillas (page XX), flour tortillas (page XX), or store- bought tortillas, warmed V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 17V2_TacosAZ_MS6_020323.indd 172/3/23 12:00 PM2/3/23 12:00 PMNext >