As my long time love for Mexican food has reached a higher level, this path led to making corn tortillas from scratch. Armed with masa harina and a lovely-but-heavy cast iron tortilla press, Taco Tuesday in our house was never the same. Sure, you can buy a tortilla in the grocery, but take a gander at the ingredient list. What else does it list in addition to corn, water and salt? And so the DIY taco tradition began.
I was thrilled to see I'm not the only non-native who loves fresh tacos enough to bust out a tortilla press. Chef Alex Stupak of the 3-star Empellón Taqueria in NYC penned a beautiful tribute to the taco's tasty glory.
Stupak's Tacos: Recipes and Provocations dives into the variations on doughs, just when you thought corn was the only way to go. Tacos also delves into some unique salsas, from the basic tomato-based types to moles that may remind us of a "Sunday sauce", simmering for hours and continuing to brim with amazing flavor days later. Chef Stupak worries little about the purists, breaking away from traditional mexicano and goes quite modern taco, featuring one with pastrami and mustard seeds. Perhaps Tacos takes the street food status of this fan favorite and elevates it to an esteemed status, but without turning Taco Tuesday into fussy taco time.
This book was received from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for review.
