My husband and I were lucky enough to live on the island of Okinawa for a few years and while we lived there, when he went to work, I went exploring. I found so many interesting restaurants full of new dishes and markets full of ingredients that I had never even seen before, let alone worked with. Although I really enjoyed exploring these places, some of my very favorite finds were at some of the private food vendor stands that you could find set up in various places all over the island.
One day, I drove past a little hand written sign that simply read “squid ink tacos for sale”, so I did a quick U-turn at the next intersection, found some parking near the sign and followed my nose to a tiny little hut behind an art museum. I walked up to the window and traded 500 YEN for two jet black tacos filled with spicy beef and an inky black tomato salsa. I had never seen anything like these tacos before, but two things were for sure… that they were delicious and that I would be recreating them myself some day in the future….
This weekend, I made a beautiful batch of inky black squid ink tortillas and I am so in love with how they turned out. If you are unfamiliar with squid ink, in addition to the gorgeous color that it brings to these tortillas, it also adds a subtly briny, salty flavor that is uniquely delicious and reminds me of being close to the ocean.
If you want to make a batch of the most beautiful black tortillas to impress your friends and fill with your favorite taco filling, then grab a jar of squid ink and let’s make some tortillas!
To begin, gather 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour (plus more for kneading), 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of squid ink and 1 cup of warm water.
In a large bowl, combine 3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Once fully incorporated, use your whisk to form a well in the center of the flour mixture…
Add 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of squid ink and 1 cup of warm water into the well and carefully begin mixing until a soft dough begins to come together…
Note: Although 3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour is usually what I need to develop a soft kneadable dough, this amount can be affected by how compacted your flour was during scooping, the humidity in the air on that day and the moisture content in your flour. If your dough feels sticky after incorporating 3 1/4 cups of flour, add another tablespoon or two. You are looking for a soft, pliable dough that will not stick to your hands during kneading.
Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until the dough feels soft and smooth.
Form the dough into a round disk and use a sharp knife or pastry cutter to divide the dough into equal portions. Dividing this amount of tortilla dough into 10 portions will give you large burrito sized tortillas, 14-16 portions will give you the standard 6-7 inch taco sized tortillas and 20 portions will give you smaller street taco sized tortillas.
Once the dough is divided into portions, roll each portion into a round ball.
Lightly flour your hands and tuck the edges of each portion under until you have a fairly smooth round ball of dough. Transfer all of the portions onto a smooth, lightly floured surface and cover them with a clean kitchen towel.
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before you shape and cook your tortillas.
Once your dough has rested, it is time to roll them out into tortillas! There are several ways to go about shaping your tortillas. Although a tortilla press makes things very easy, they are definitely not necessary. With two sheets of non-stick parchment paper and a rolling pin, you can hand roll out each portion into a nice, thin tortilla.
Simply flatten your dough ball into a round, flat disk with the palms of your hands and place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Use your rolling pin to roll once or twice in one direction and then rotate the dough one quarter turn, roll once or twice more, rotate one quarter of a turn, roll once or twice more and repeat until your tortilla is thin and fairly round. Perfection is definitely not necessary!
If you have a tortilla press, fold a sheet of non-stick parchment paper and place your dough in the center of the press between the two halves of parchment paper. Close the press gently, rotate the tortilla one quarter turn and then close the press again and repeat until the tortilla is as thin as you prefer.
To cook your tortillas, place a wide skillet or flat griddle over medium heat. Once the griddle is warm, place a freshly rolled tortilla onto the dry, preheated griddle and cook for about 60 seconds. Flip the tortilla and cook for another 15-30 seconds. Have a clean, dry towel on your countertop and transfer the freshly cooked tortillas into the towel to stay warm.
Wrapping freshly cooked tortillas in a towel will not only keep them warm, but it will allow them to continue steaming each other and get even more soft and fabulous while you cook the remaining portions of dough.
Note: If your tortillas shrivel up when they hit the griddle, your griddle is too hot. I find that although I begin cooking my tortillas over medium heat, I typically end up lowering the heat to medium low or even low as I get towards the end of each batch.
Once your tortillas are all cooked, it is time to fill them with something delicious and enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Aren’t they beautiful? I can’t get over that gorgeous inky black color! And although the initial smell of the squid ink is quite strong, once your tortillas are cooked, the flavor is very mild. Today, I filled my squid ink tacos with beef barbacoa and a rainbow chard and purple cabbage citrus slaw. The colors were beautifully contrasting and the flavors were sheer perfection…
These squid ink tortillas are not just beautiful though, they have a fabulously soft, pliable texture and great flavor. They are unique, but not something that I would be nervous serving to anyone. They are unique, beautiful and so much fun to serve and enjoy.
I am so glad that I recreated these beautiful tortillas and will never forget driving past that little hand written sign that introduced me to just how gorgeous a taco can really be.
Squid Ink Tortillas
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour (plus more for kneading)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons of squid ink
- 1 cup of water, warm
Instructions
- Combine 3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder in a large bowl
- Form a well in the center of the flour mixture and add 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of squid ink and 1 cup of warm water
- Mix until a soft dough forms
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface
- Knead for a few minutes or until a smooth, soft dough comes together
- Divide the dough into 10-20 portions (10 for burritos, 14-16 for tacos or 20 for street taco size tortillas)
- Roll each portion into a round ball and cover with a clean kitchen towel and let them rest at room temperature for 30 minutes
- Once rested, working with one portion at a time, shape your tortillas either by rolling them out between sheets of parchment paper or by using a tortilla press (photos above)
- Place a large skillet or flat griddle over medium heat and allow to preheat until warm
- Carefully place one portion of dough onto the dry preheated griddle and cook for 45-60 seconds or until lightly golden and dry
- Flip the tortilla and cook for another 15-30 seconds
- Wrap cooked tortillas in a clean kitchen towel stacked on each other
- Use immediately or at room temperature
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week
