Recipe: Homemade Tortillas and fun, healthy dips and spreads!

Tortillas are very expensive here in Japan. I went to a local supermarket (known to provide low prices) and found 10 tortillas for around $6. Ouch. This didn't stop me from sharing the concept of wraps, dips and spreads to my family in Japan. I decided to make my own tortillas instead! I make my own pizza with my boyfriend sometimes so this tortilla making ended up being very similar to that.

- - - T O R T I L L A - - - 

My first homemade tortillas ended up being chewy, soft and on the thicker side. Instead of wrapping things inside, we ended up dipping or placing the spreads and dips on top. After thorough research online about making tortillas, here's what I used:

• 1.5 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• A little less than half a cup of warm water (I highly recommend you adjust the amount of water you put in throughout the process while you kneed the dough)
• Salt 

Steps:

1. In a bowl, mix the flour, olive oil and salt together. 
2. Start to add in the warm water (little by little!) while you mix the dough. We want the dough to become like pizza dough! Maybe as soft as your ear lobe.
3. Settle the dough in saran wrap or in a kitchen towel for a while.
4. Separate the dough into sections. Roll them into balls and flatten them so they are thin like tortillas. 
5. Place them onto a MEDIUM heated pan and cook both sides for approximately 1 minute each.
6. After you're done cooking them, place them onto a plate and cover it with saran wrap or a towel to prevent it from drying out.

- - - D I P S / S P R E A D S - - -

Simple Yoghurt Guacamole 

• Mix 1/2 avocado, 1/4 to 1/3 cup of strained/greek yoghurt, salt, pepper, garlic (optional), onions (optional). This guacamole becomes super creamy! My absolute favourite. 

Garlic Basil Mayo

• Mix 2 tbsp mayo, 1/2 tbsp basil, salt, pepper and a little bit of minced garlic and mix! Goes great with meat, veggie sticks and bread.

Tomato and Basil Marinade

• Mix tomatoes, basil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and minced garlic together. 

Hummus

• Blend 1 can of chick peas and 1 minced garlic clove until smooth. Then add 1 - 1.5 tbsp tahini (ground sesame seed paste), 2-4 tbsp lemon juice, salt, pepper and a few tbsp of the left over water from the chick pea can (~2 tbsp) and blend until creamy. You could also add olive oil into the mixture. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and other spices (if you like).