Tortillas & turkey taco filling

In the past, I've made buckwheat tortillas with moderate success. I've both fried them and baked them. I think the baking turned out the best, I think, but I was totally winging it. I had just mixed buckwheat flour, oil and water together and went for it. That's the basic recipe, I do believe for genuine tortillas. I did find this link for authentic corn tortillas and I'm going to follow it with buckwheat flour (or possibly a half and half of buckwheat and sorghum).

I will try them this afternoon and then post an update this evening or tomorrow. Wish me luck.

UPDATE: I used Bob's Red Mill buckwheat flour - it's dark and very finely ground. It is not my favorite buckwheat flour, but it was what we have available to us, since we are trying to avoid bulk-bins (i.e. gluten contamination). I've heard there is a pre-packaged "light" buckwheat flour, so I will have to look into it. My point is, when I started making the dough based on the corn recipe, the dough was way too sticky. I added probably another cup of flour and it was still too sticky. So, I added some tapioca flour. That helped at first, but then it made it sticky in a different way. Good for holding the tortillas together; bad for allowing them to transfer from wax paper to frying pan easily. Adding even more buckwheat flour as I was flatening then (with my hands and fingers, not a roller) seemed to help. I fried them on high heat in palm oil shortening. The dash of baking soda I added to the flour helped them bubble and rise.

They were chewy and fabulous. But also very time consuming. I think it took me an hour to make a dozen. [Dave had 4; I had 4; Aevryn had 1; Lily had 3. That alone tells you how good they were.] I knew it was going to take awhile, so I had pre-chopped my veggies so I was able to just let the filling simmer while I did the tortillas. I'm not sure how these would be if I made them ahead of time, put them in the fridge or freezer and then warmed them for dinner. I wonder if I'd lose a lot of the flexibility these had.

For the sake of completeness, here is what we had for dinner last night, to go with our tortillas.

Turkey Taco Filling:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 green pepper
• 4-5 tomatoes
• 1 lg zucchini
• bone broth
• fresh cilantro
• juice of 1 lime
• sea salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, allspice, clove
  

1. Brown turkey.
2. Add 1 cup bone broth & spices. Let simmer for a few minutes.
3. Add finely chopped veggies. Simmer some more until veggies are soft.
   

Yield: enough filling for 12 small tortillas, plus lettuce cups. roughly 6-8 servings.

Taco Toppings:

• avocado
• green salsa
• lettuce
• black olives

Turkey Tacos with Brown Rice Tortillas

I blanked on dinner tonight, so I just browned some frozen turkey and made do with what we had in the house. Luckily I had bought brown rice tortillas last time I was at the store. Also, we always have avocados and green salsa around. Easy as pie. Or tacos, as it were.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb free-range ground turkey
• 1 cup chicken stock (or water)
  
• 1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded & chopped
  
• 1 large zucchini, diced very small
• fresh cilantro
• green onions or chives
• 1/4 cup (or more) nutritional yeast
  
• spices: 1 Tbsp cumin, 1 Tbsp paprika, 1/4 tsp clove, 1tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp oregano
• juice of 1 lemon
  
• 1 cup shredded raw cabbage or lettuce or other greens
• 1 can of Green Salsa - or make your own with jalapenos, tomatillos, onions & salt
• 1 avocado
• 1 package Brown Rice Tortillas
• 1 -2 Tbsp safflower oil
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown turkey. Add stock a little at a time to help turkey thaw. [If you are using fresh turkey, add the stock with spices after turkey has browned.]
2. Add water, green onions, nutritional yeast & spices. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring.
3. Add zucchini, chopped cilantro, and tomato. Simmer on low-medium with lid on while preparing the next ingredients.
4. Finely slice/shred greens. Set aside.
5. Cut avocado in half, scoop out pit with spoon. Scoop out flesh from skin with spoon. Cut up into chunks.
   
6. Prepare tortillas - rub the surface of each tortilla with safflower oil and nuke in microwave for 10-15 seconds. Alternatively, have oven preheated on warm/low and toss them in the oven for a few minutes.
   
7. Check meat/zucchini - the water should be mostly absorbed. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or so.
8. Stir in lemon juice and throw some fresh cilantro on for garnish.
   

We eat ours by putting a line of the turkey filling down the middle of the tortilla. Then add avocado and fresh cabbage (and spicy green salsa down the middle if you are Dave or I). Last we attempt to roll the tortillas up. Even with the warming and the oiling they are a bit... brittle, shall we say. Lily likes to rip up the tortillas and make mini tacos. Dave likes to eat them with a fork. I manage to hold mine together long enough to eat it like a burrito. Aevryn kind of just goes for it and eats with her fists - inelegant yet effective. You could also toast the tortillas and make nachos or taco salad. The possibilities are endless.

Serves 6, if everybody eats just one (large) taco/burrito.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Additions: raw onions, raw tomatoes, salsa, sauteed peppers & onions, mushrooms - whatever you have in the house
  
• Make avocado into guacamole and spread onto tortillas first
• (VEGETARIAN): swap meat for quinoa or beans & rice