Soft Taco Shells

This recipe is very quick! We were inspired by our trip to Peru on this one. Since everything pre-made is more expensive, the locals prepare everything from scratch when it comes to food. With the new mentality that everything should be homemade, we set out to make our own taco shells. And I can't believe we didn't before! There are only 2 ingredients in this recipe and it adds a nice touch of authenticity to your meal.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (360 mL) instant corn mesa
1 1/3 cup (320 mL) warm to hot water

Method
1. Mix flour and water together in a medium bowl.
2. When the dough is starting to form a ball, press dough together and transfer to a floured flat surface. Kneed for a couple of minutes. When ready the dough felt a bit like playdough; it was keeping its shape, it wasn't sticking to my hands or crumbling because it was too dry. Add a bit of water at a time, if it's too crumbly or corn flour, if it's too sticky.
3. When ready return the dough to the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
4. After 30 minutes have passed, separate the dough in 8 pieces. Roll them in balls. You can also add water or flour at this point, if you find that the dough's consistency is not to your liking.
5. Flour a flat surface and a rolling pin. Place a dough ball in the middle and start rolling it. Continuously flip the dough and flour your surface as you flatten out your tortilla to prevent it from sticking. Flatten until it's about 1-2 mm thick.
6. Warm a dry cast iron skillet* on medium-high heat. Place the uncooked tortilla on the hot surface. It should take only about 30 seconds for each side to cook. Pile them up on a plate under aluminium foil to keep warm until you eat them.

Makes 8 tortillas (6 inches in diameter).

*They can also be cooked on a regular skillet, it just takes about 2 minutes per side, and you unfortunately don't get the slight char marks.

Chinese Ground Beef Salad Wraps

This quick meal was inspired by my boyfriend's Chinese heritage. One of the courses in Peking duck is lettuce wraps; using a spoon you fill an iceberg lettuce leaf with stir fried duck. It is quite delicious! There are nice juicy pieces of duck meat, a little bit of vegetables and crunchy vermicelli noodles topped with hoisin sauce.

Not easily finding minced duck, we opted for ground beef in our version. This dish is quick to make and can easily be used as a fresh new appetizer at a party or as part of a main dish. In fact, we used the leftover meat for tacos on homemade soft shells.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups (360 mL) zucchini, roughly chopped
Small pinch of salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsp (45 mL) fresh ginger, finely grated*
Pepper to taste
2 tsp (10 mL) red chili flakes
1 cup (240 mL) mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/4 cup (60 mL) hoisin sauce
1/4-1/2 cup (60-120 mL) peanuts, shelled, unsalted, roughly chopped (optional)
1 head iceberg or romaine lettuce, leaves separated

Method

1. Brown the beef in a medium to large skillet, break up the ground meat while cooking for 3-4 minutes.
2. When the beef seems mostly cooked through, mix in the onions. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
3. When onions are starting to get translucent, add the chopped zucchini. Sprinkle a little salt over the zucchinis to draw out some moisture, and mix thoroughly.
4. Cover the skillet and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
5. Remove the cover and reduce the cooking liquids by at least 3/4.
6. Create a well in middle of the beef mixture and add the garlic, scallions, ginger, black pepper, and chili flakes. Stir the aromatic mixture in the well and let cook for a minute. Then, thoroughly mix with the beef and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Stir in mushrooms and let cook for 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms have absorbed the flavour.
8. Turn off the heat, leaving the skillet on the heat source. Add hoisin sauce and peanuts, mix well and cover until ready to serve.

Makes about 24 small wraps.

*If ginger does not keep well in your refrigerator, I suggest you buy it fresh, peel it and freeze it. You can then easily grate it on a microplane when needed in recipes.