Ham and Cheese Tortillas a la Parrilla
When I decided to put together a cookout menu that had an Argentinian tilt to it, one of the first things I thought of to grill up was beef served with chimichurri, which is something that would likely pop into a lot of people's minds to fill the need. I wanted to do something different than the short ribs I already had written about on this site, so was digging deeper to see if there was anything that might be unique enough to warrant a new recipe post. Somewhere along this journey, I came across tortillias a la parrilla rellano, or stuffed grilled tortillas. I was instantly captivated by this Northern Argentinian staple and wanted to give a try, so started with what seemed to be the most common stuffing—ham and cheese.
Tortillias a la parrilla come in both filled and non-filled varieties, but the dough seems to be the same for both. It's a dough that uses a lot of butter as the primary liquid, and while I saw some recipes that didn't add any water at all, I found I needed about three-quarters of cup for a proper dough ball to form. Once I had a cohesive dough, I kneaded it until smooth, and then let it rest. I rested mine in the fridge overnight because I made the dough a day early to best fit into my prep schedule.
The next day I divided the dough into four eqaul-ish pieces and quickly kneaded each of those into a ball and flattened them slightly to make rolling them out easier. I wasn't quite sure how big these were going to be, so I rolled the dough until the thickness and diameter felt right for a hand-held snack, and that was roughly 1/8-inch thick and 11 inches wide.
Next went on the filling, which was super easy with just a couple slices each of cheese and ham. I made sure those ingredients stayed within one half of the circle and they didn't go all the way to the edge because I needed room to seal and crimp the edges closed.
That process was essentially like making a giant empanada—after folding the dough into a half moon, I pressed the two edges closed first, then pinched and tucked the dough to create a nice crimped pattern all around. As I finished each tortilla, I placed them on a parchment-lined baking sheet so they wouldn't stick, even if they got a little tacky.
I had to do some experimentation on the best way to cook these because I needed to ensure both the dough cooked and the cheese melted before the exterior charred too much. I started the tortillas on the cool side of a two-zone fire, but they cooked a bit too slow when placed that far from the coals. So I moved them closer to the fire, but still not directly over it, and then allowed the dough to cook until it released from the grates easily, but before a lot of browning started to occur.
I flipped and moved the tortillas around as necessary for even cooking, and then once the dough seemed to be almost done is when I slid them over to the hot side of the grill. The outside browned and blackened in spots quickly at this point, so I kept a watchful eye and continued to move and flip these a lot to ensure I didn't scorch them to death.
As I served these up to my guests, I jokingly was asking everyone if they would like a Hot Pocket, but that really was selling these short. I mean, there's nothing earth shattering here, they are just ham and cheese in bread, but that is such a comforting combo that it's bound to be a hit. What elevated these was their grilled exterior—the char and crispness brought in elements you would associate with a really good pizza into the fold. Still, saying these are akin to a calzone is not right—these tortillias a la parrilla are their own unique thing and they're not that difficult to make, so are definitely worth giving a try to fully experience.
