While purists may disdain the flour tortillas we can now buy in our shops, preferring instead to use the classic corn tortillas which are a centrepiece of Mexican cooking, I reckon the flour tortilla is going to prove itself to be the fast food of the late 1990s. Tortilla "wraps" have almost ousted the traditional sandwich from many a US lunch pail.
The reason why is simple. Tortillas are easy to make, infinitely adaptable, and will match with almost any ingredient. Forget bruschetta and crostini, it is the flour tortilla, whether rolled around a few staple ingredients or shallow fried - in which guise it is known as a quesadilla - which will come to play a major role whenever we need to grab a bite, fast.
You can make the tortilla as simple or as complex as you like. The only essentials are grated cheese - which melts slightly as the tortilla warms in the pan - some finely chopped red onion, sour cream or yogurt, some chopped tomato and some chopped coriander.
With these basics, you can add whatever you like. Various lunchtimes have seen me warm the tortillas over a medium heat in a frying pan, and then add in some slices of battered, deep-fried squid, or crisp-fried chicken; cooked, chopped beetroot; crispy iceberg lettuce; left-over Puy lentils; Mexican black beans; chopped avocado with tomato salsa, and occasionally some chopped jalapeno chillies.
I have used sauces such as mayonnaise mixed with chilli black bean sauce - this with some pieces of fish is delicious - simple drizzles of yogurt; a cooked vinaigrette; a standard vinaigrette, and the favourite, sour cream.
We reckon two tortillas for each person makes a substantial lunch, and you can have four of them made in as many minutes, keeping them warm in a low oven as you flash each one in the pan and then dress it with the ingredients. The two major brands of flour tortillas sold in the supermarkets are Discovery and Casa Fiesta, and both are good, costing about £1.50 for a packet of eight. You can keep them in the freezer, and keep the opened packet in the fridge for a few days. The Dean And DeLuca Cook- book mentions other possibilities for the quesadilla, including cooked spinach mixed with the cheese - use about half cheese and half spinach. Amazingly delicious. Also, cooked slices of chorizo (Spanish sausage) placed over the cheese, or try refried beans and salsa placed over the cheese. The world is, veritably, your oyster when it comes to filling tortillas and making quesadillas, so be outrageous. The delicate, doughy flavour of the tortilla seems to be able to make everything delicious. Here are two basic recipes, for filled tortilla and fried quesadilla, but whatever is at hand can be added to these basics.
Tortilla filled with tomato, red onion, coriander and sour cream
Finely chop some tomato, and mix with finely diced red onion (or sliced spring onion) and chopped coriander. Have a tub of sour cream to hand. Grate some cheese, which can be simple Cheddar, or something more special such as Gabriel or Desmond, from west Cork (these Swiss style cheeses, made by Bill Hogan, melt brilliantly), or north Cork's Coolea. Warm a medium sized frying pan over medium heat. When it is hot, slide in the tortilla, and warm for about 20 seconds. Then flip the tortilla over and warm the other side. Don't overheat, or the tortilla will crisp, and you won't be able to fold it. Place the cheese on now, melt it slightly. Slide the tortilla out of the pan and, working quickly, place a line of tomato, onion and coriander to one side of the tortilla. Place a good splodge of sour cream on top, then fold the tortilla so that it wraps up into a roll. Place it in a low oven while you make the rest of the tortillas.
Quesadilla with cheese
Have four tortillas ready. Grate the cheese, then place it on two of the tortillas, covering right to the edge, and then top with the other two tortillas. (A few sliced spring onions added to the mix won't go amiss.)
Heat a frying pan over medium heat, and add half a tablespoon of oil and half a tablespoon of butter to the pan - the butter should just sizzle. With a spatula, lift the tortilla into the pan and fry for about two minutes, long enough for the cheese to melt and the tortilla to become lightly browned. Then flip the tortilla over and fry the other side for the same length of time.
Remove from the pan, and then cut into wedges. Serve with guacamole or tomato salsa on the side.