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Burro’s Tortillas by Terri Fields and Illustrated by Sherry Rogers is a Southwestern version of the Little Red Hen. Instead of hen we have Burro and his amigos Bobcat, Coyote and Jackrabbit. He doesn’t grow and grind wheat to make bread, instead Burro grows corn, grinds it with a metate, and makes it into delicious tortillas on a tortillera (tortilla press).

As usual, his friends are no help until it comes time to chow down. Goodness, when will they ever learn?

Included in the “For Creative Minds” section, a wonderful feature of all Syvlan Dell books, is a Spanish/English glossary to help you with the Spanish words in the book. There’s also this recipe for making tortillas.

Tortillas
Makes 8

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup maseca flour (You can find this special kind of corn flour in the hispanic food section of your grocery store or at a Mexican market. Maseca is made just like Burro did in the book. Corn is cooked with a little lime that comes from burning limestone. Then it’s rinsed, dried and ground into a flour.)
2. ½ to ¾ cup warm water

Equipment:

1. Mixing bowl and spoon or mixer
2. Slightly damp paper towels
3. Wax paper
4. Rolling pin
5. Cast iron skillet or griddle
6. Spatula
7. Tortilla press (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the maseca and ½ cup of water. Add the rest of the water one tablespoon at a time as needed. Mix together until the dough is smooth and forms a dough ball—about two or three minutes. The dough should be smooth but not too sticky.
2. Divide the dough into 8 little balls and cover with the slightly damp paper towels to keep them from drying out. Cut off two square pieces of wax paper. Place one ball of dough at a time between the two sheets and use the rolling pin to roll into a circle (as best as you can). If you have a tortilla press, you can use it instead of the rolling pin.
3. With an adult’s help, cook on a very hot, ungreased cast iron skillet or griddle. Use your spatula to flip the tortilla every 15 to 20 seconds until cooked (light brown). Wrap cooked tortillas in a small kitchen towel or cloth to keep warm and to prevent them from drying out.

I can’t think of anything more delcious than fresh tortillas. You can serve them plain or with some salsa, cheese, and refried beans. You can also cut them into strips and bake them in the oven until they’re crispy. Fantástico!

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