Name: Chile lime crackers Recipe
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Makes 60 crackers
Ingredients: 1/4 cup sweet paprika; 2 tablespoons achiote paste; 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 1/2 teaspoons ancho powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 1 cup olive oil; 1/2 cup fresh lime juice; 12 (8-inch) white or whole-wheat flour tortillas

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By Betty Hallock

March 28, 2007

A bright, pungent tapenade spiked with anchovies and lemon juice and long wedges of tortilla crackers studded with sesame seeds make a winning combination of appetizers.

Ciudad’s house olive tapenade recently caught the attention of the Food section website producer, Tenny Tatusian.

“It was a lovely balance of flavors -- the olives were somewhat tamed, but still bracing,” Tatusian says. “It’s a dish I’d love to serve at my next dinner party -- especially alongside untamed martinis.”

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¼ cup sweet paprika

2 tablespoons achiote paste

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 ½ teaspoons ancho powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 cup olive oil

½ cup fresh lime juice

12 (8-inch) white or whole-wheat flour tortillas

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet paprika, achiote paste, cayenne pepper, ancho powder, salt, olive oil and lime juice (the ingredients will tend to separate a little bit). This makes about 1 1/2 cups chile lime mix, slightly more than needed for 12 tortillas. This will keep, refrigerated, overnight.

Brush about 2 teaspoons of the mixture on one side of each tortilla; the entire side should be covered up to the edge.

Place the chile-lime coated tortillas side by side on the baking sheets and with a pizza cutter, using an “M”-shaped motion, cut each tortilla into long triangular wedges. Bake until crispy and just starting to darken in color, about 15 minutes.

From Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken.

Betty Hallock

Betty Hallock is deputy Food editor at the Los Angeles Times. She has co-written four cookbooks, including “Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles,” “Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” and “Baking at République.” She started her journalism career at the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American in New York, worked on the L.A. Times’ Business desk, and was interim food editor at Los Angeles Magazine. Hallock also helped launch a food and nutrition vertical for wellness app RoundGlass. She’s a graduate of UCLA and New York University.