how to: make flour tortillas

This recipe, like most food for me, comes with a story.

Before I went vegetarian, and then vegan, fourteen years ago, Peking Duck was one of my absolute favourite foods. Fourteen years later, I've learnt to make flour tortillas- you'll see in the recipe below that depending on the oil you use, these are perfect soft, warm tortillas for Mexican...or beautiful, fresh, Chinese pancakes just begging to be used in Peking Tofu. I've been making a batch a week, on average- and once I even made two batches in the same day, to gift a batch to my sister-in-law. I use the recipe from this chef, from her Chloe's Kitchen cookbook.

You'll need-
*2 cups plain flour, plus extra for dusting
*A pinch of salt
*1 cup boiling water
*Olive or sesame oil, for brushing

In a large bowl, stir together all of the ingredients except the oil, and as soon as it's cool enough to touch, use your hands to knead into a smooth, cohesive dough. Cover with cling film and leave for twenty minutes.

When the twenty minutes has passed, cut the dough into two equal pieces, and roll each piece into a log shape- cut each of these into eight pieces- so you'll have sixteen total.

On a lightly floured surface- little tip: use a large cutting board, it's far easier to wash at clean-up time than an entire kitchen bench- press each piece of dough with your palm to flatten, and then roll into a thin circle {or something resembling a circle, if you're anything like me}- add more flour to your surface and rolling pin as necessary. Set aside {I use a long strip of baking paper for this purpose} while you finish rolling out your tortilla rounds.

Turn a non-stick frypan onto a medium high heat. If it's plain flour tortillas you're after, brush the surface of each dough round with olive oil- if you're making Chinese pancakes, use sesame oil. Cook in batches until all done, brushing the uncooked side with oil and then flipping over when they bubble up.

To keep your tortillas/Chinese pancakes warm, fill a saucepan with a few inches of water, turn on to a simmer, and place a plate on top. Stack the cooked tortillas/pancakes on the plate, covering with a large metal bowl while you cook the rest.

Makes 16.