tortillas – Harmonious Belly

We had another week without radishes, but with plenty of lettuce. Last year we got a head each week for almost the entire season; I wonder if this year will be the same. I will eat a large salad tonight. This week we got:

The strawberries were better this week than last week, I think, which is kind of like saying we got 12 oz of gold this week over last week’s 11.5 oz. Both weeks have brought us amazing strawberries. We ate them for breakfast this morning with some cantaloupe I cut up last night.

strawberries week 2

This week’s lettuce head was a leaf lettuce in a very unusual color – kind of the color of manzanita wood.

red lettuce

We got cilantro this week! Also dried black beans. I’m thinking of making a black bean salad tonight with them both.

cilantro

bagging black beans

I have a share of beans and grains from Cayuga Organics, which grow the best beans I’ve ever had. Their grains are also amazing.

We also got asparagus – I think we are at the end of the season.

asparagus

Last night I had some of it and it was so good. Simply pan roasted with some salt. I ate it with a quesadilla I fried in coconut oil, made with raw pepperjack cheese (also from the CSA), some cilantro and Tortilleria Nixtamal tortillas. We had stopped in over the weekend and picked some up on our way home from touring the Louis Armstrong House in Corona (fabulous). They really are the best tortillas around.

In addition to the veg, berries, black beans and grains (farro!), my meat and dairy order came in – my freezer is now full of grass fed/finished beef, organic chicken breasts and turkey sausage, and I’ve got a nice goaty chevre to look forward to tonight, too.

Tortilleria Nixtamal Sign

A couple weekends ago, we decided to venture deeper into Queens to one of our favorite eateries, Tortilleria Nixtamal. Located in the neighborhood of Corona, Nixtamal is the only place in the city that makes corn tortillas the traditional way – they start with the corn itself, soak it in water and lime (aka calcium hydroxide), grind it up into fresh masa, and make the best, most flavorful tortillas you’ll have outside of Mexico.

“Nixtamal” comes from the term “nixtamalization”, which is the process described above of soaking the grain in a slightly acidic medium. Just like with any other whole grain, utilizing this soaking process makes the grain more digestible and the nutrients in the grain more accessible to the body. On a practical level, it makes it easier to grind up, too. This process was used by early peoples in the Americas. According to Nixtamal’s website, “There is no precise date for when the technology was developed, but the earliest evidence of nixtamalization is found in Guatemala’s southern coast, with equipment dating from 1200-1500BCE.” Talk about a traditional technique!

The corn that Tortilleria Nixtamal uses white dent corn from Illinois. It’s a non-GMO corn, as well as non-transgenic. It’s also certified kosher. The resulting masa is used for their tortillas and their tamales, which are cooked with lard that is rendered locally in the neighborhood. They also use the whole corn for posole (aka hominy, a sort of soup/stew made with corn).

They make the tortillas there with a giant tortilla machine that came here straight from Mexico:

La Machine

It is really a neat sight, and la machine is the only way they can make as many tortillas in a day that they need. Often they sell out of tortillas by the end of day.

Shauna, one of the owners, usually takes our order and always has great suggestions and recommendations. She is obviously proud of her work and business, and will even give you a tour of the downstairs cooking space if you ask!

I’ve tried a number of dishes on the menu, and my favorites are the guacamole and chips made from their tortillas; the chicken tacos and rajas tacos; and the unorthodox Italian tamale (filled with sausage and peppers as an homage to this traditionally Italian neighborhood). However, everything I’ve had there is extremely tasty.

Nixtamal Guac

Sausage and Peppers Tamale

I do love their tortillas and always take home a pound when I leave. Love how the tortillas are prepared, from the quality corn, to the traditional way of preparing the grain, to the final result – a soft, toothsome delight of a tortilla. I know I will always get a wonderful meal when I’m there. If you live in NYC, definitely make a run to Tortilleria Nixtamal!

Tortilleria Nixtamal
104-05 47th Avenue
Corona, NY 11368
http://www.tortillerianixtamal.com/

Tag: tortillas

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Tortilleria Nixtamal – Tortillas the Traditional Way