The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook
From the cover of The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook, “The irrepressible tortilla – Crisp it, stuff it, roll it, dip it – Ole! – Over 200 surprising to traditional recipes, including Seattle Salmon Tacos, Spicy Sesame Chicken Fajitas, Tamale-Style Beef – And much more.
The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook was written by Victoria Wise and Susanna Hoffman, founders of Good & Plenty Cafe in Oakland, CA, and co-authors of Good & Plenty: America’s New Home Cooking.
What I probably like most about this book is the authors’ use of the sidebar which they have used to provide additional information on most of their recipes. They may talk about what inspired the recipe, give variations of it, provide substitutions for certain ingredients, or provide a suggested menu to go along with the recipe at hand.
What I dislike most about The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook is the lack of photographs – there are no pictures! There are some images – what I would call illustrated clip-art. But no real photos of the completed recipes or anything else.
The book starts out with “The Larder,” which is the authors’ list of ingredients that they always have on hand. They then talk about tortillas and give recipes for corn tortillas, flour tortillas, and hominy tortillas.
Another chapter is on Salsas. They briefly discuss salsas and provide recipes for probably 20 different salsas. My favorite is the Mango-Jalapeno Salsa. It is simple, fast, and tastes great!
Mango-Jalapeno Salsa
Makes 2 cups
Takes less than 20 minutes
2 ripe but firm mangos (2 cups coarsely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon minced jalapeno chili pepper
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed cardamom or coriander seed
1. Peel the mangos. Using a paring knife, slice through the pulp down to the seed at 1/4-inch intervals, first around length-wise, then horizontally. Cut the pulp from the seed. You will wind up with almond-size chunks.
2. In a bowl, mix together the mangos, chili pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and cardamom. Serve right away.
Other chapters in The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook include Beef; Pork; Lamb and Goat; Chicken; Turkey; Duck; Fish; Shellfish; Potatoes, Beans, and Vegetables; Eggs; Quesadillas; Tostadas; Side Salads; Tortilla Desserts.
One of the complaints some have of this book is that it isn’t authentic Mexican cooking but probably more “Californian.” I would probably have to agree with that assessment. There are some recipes in this book that you would never find “south of the border,” but for the most part, it still works for me. There are some seemingly odd ingredient combinations, but I think, surprisingly, they work. The lack of any photographs is the biggest negative for me.
