Masa Beyond the Tortilla

IN AN INSPIRING NEW BOOK DEDICATED TO MASA, JORGE GAVIRIA IS STRIVING TO DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE INGREDIENT.

Story by

MAGDALENA O’NEAL

Photographs by

GRAYDON HERRIOTT

Sunset Page

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MASA

Masa Harina Waffle

While masa may not be an expected ingredient in waffles, it adds an extra crunch and chew that is unlike that of all-purpose flour. Here, Jorge Gaviria asked pastry chef Jess Stephens (of Empellón and Onda restaurants) to develop a sweet treat you’ll be sure to revisit. MAKES 4 WAFFLES

3 egg whites 3 Tbsp. sugar 2 cups buttermilk 1 egg yolk 6 Tbsp. butter, melted 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 cup masa harina 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt

1. Whip the egg whites and sugar until medium-stiff peaks form. 2. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg yolk, and melted butter until evenly combined. 3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, masa harina, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 4. Alternate whisking in ½ cup water and the buttermilk mixture. Fold in egg white mixture. Allow the batter to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes for the corn to soften. The batter will be thick, as the masa harina will absorb much of the liquid. 5. Follow your waffle maker’s instructions for baking, and serve with your favorite toppings.

BEYOND THE TORTILLA

“What makes the perfect masa?”This is the question posed at the start of the introduction to Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple, the first cookbook from Jorge Gaviria, founder of Masienda, a purveyor of masa and masa harina for restaurants across the West and beyond. You can find tortillas made with

Masienda products at star chef Enrique Olvera’s Damian in Los Angeles, Oakland’s standout Chicano heritage hotspot Bombera, and other top eateries. But that wasn’t always the case. Gaviria first set out to find an answer to the perfect masa question in 2014, which led him to farms throughout Oaxaca in

Mexico. There he tasted rare heirloom corn grown for generations by local farmers. Their exceptional crops became the foundation for the masa now gracing the tables of some of the finest restaurants in the world. For Masa, Gaviria consulted chefs and friends to compile the book’s comprehensive chapters that serve as more than a home for simple recipes. “The recipes are broken up into three sections,” Gaviria tells us. “The first section is really foundational recipes of masa that will also leave you without any further questions. That was really informed by my own process, conversations I’ve had, and the things I’ve learned.” The second section is meant to document all of the ways masa is used across the world. The third section of the book highlights modern recipes, which Gaviria explains are representative of “the third-wave movement around masa and a way to think about it without cultural confines.” To help expand our understanding of how masa can be used in the kitchen, we excerpted a few that highlight the ingredient’s versatility. With these recipes as a blueprint to expand your use of masa at home, you can start to experiment with it in new ways. Order a bag of masa harina from masienda.com and you’re sure to taste a level of quality that will, as Gaviria says, get you “hooked for life.”

Masa is available at chroniclebooks.com and local retailers. $35

Masa Tempura Batter

This batter is the key to fried fish tacos at Empellón restaurant in New York City and “can be used on just about any host, from fish and shrimp to vegetables and tofu,” Gaviria explains. “[Chef] Alex Stupak’s secret to getting an even, flaky consistency from this masa batter is to run it through a cream whipper. Cream whippers work by using compressed nitrous oxide to aerate the liquid inside through a nozzle at the top. If you don’t have one of these lying around, you can get pretty close by whisking or blending the batter for a bit longer, as you might to whip cream, for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth and even.” MAKES 4 CUPS

1-2 qt. vegetable oil, for frying 2 cups cold water 1 cup masa harina, plus more for dredging ½ tsp. fine salt, plus more for seasoning 1 lb. shrimp, fish, or tofu, or 4 cups thinly sliced vegetables Freshly ground black pepper 1. Fill a deep fryer or pot with at least 2 inches of oil and heat to 350°F. 2. In a blender, combine the water, masa harina, and salt and blend on high speed until smooth. (If you’re not using a cream whipper, blend for 2 to 3 minutes more.) Strain the batter through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and refrigerate until cold. If using a cream whipper, pour the batter into it and express the batter through the nozzle into a bowl. 3. Season the shrimp or other tempura-dipping ingredients with salt and pepper. 4. Pour extra masa harina for dredging into a bowl. 5. Dredge the shrimp in the masa harina, shaking off the excess. 6. Next, dip the shrimp into the chilled batter until fully coated and then carefully lower into the hot oil, making sure not to overcrowd them in the pot. 7. Fry in batches, flipping halfway through, until golden brown, 3-5 minutes. 8. Strain on a wire rack or paper towel–lined plate, season with more salt, and serve hot.

White Chocolate Chip Cookies

“I had never personally experimented much with sweet pastry items of any sort, but I knew it could be done easily with masa,” says Gaviria, who turned to Stephens for this treat as well. “After all, masa appears in not only savory applications throughout Mesoamerica but also plenty of confections, like the rosquilla cookies of Nicaragua and turuletes of southern Mexico.” MAKES 24 COOKIES 1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped bars 2 1 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 3 cup masa harina ½ tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 ¼ cups butter, at room temperature ½ cup granulated sugar ¾ cup packed light brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 3 cup chopped macadamia nuts Flaky salt (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. 2. Spread out white chocolate on the lined pan. (This is going to get gooey, so do not put the chocolate directly onto a baking sheet, or it will absorb the flavors of every one-sheet-pan

dinner that came before.) 3. Bake the chocolate for 5 minutes, or until you see some browning along the edges. Stir the chocolate and repeat until all of the chocolate is the color of light amber honey. This happens slowly at first and then quickly, so keep an eye on the oven. It shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes. 4. Allow the caramelized chocolate to cool completely before breaking it up into chunks for the cookies. 5. Combine the flour, masa harina, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, whisk together, and set aside. 6. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar for a few minutes, until fluffy and pale. 7. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla.

Mix until just combined. 8. Add the flour mixture in increments until evenly incorporated. Fold in the chopped macadamias and caramelized white chocolate pieces. 9. Press a plastic sheet onto the top of the dough and refrigerate the bowl for at least 30 minutes before scooping. 10.Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a baking sheet. Scoop the dough into 2-inch clumps and space them evenly on the prepared pan, with at least 4 inches of space between them. 11. Top the dough with flaky salt, if you’re so inclined. Bake for 6 minutes and rotate the sheet. Bake for another 6 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly brown on the edges and just set in the middle. Cool the cookies for as long as you can stand it and serve.