Vida Cantina’s Scallop Tacos with Avocado Salsa

I hope the regulars at Vida Cantina in Portsmouth, New Hampshire know how lucky they are. They can, after all, score some of the best tacos in the region on any given Tuesday. And some of them probably know that chef David Vargas is a repeat semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award. But they may not all know how much work goes into creating those coveted tacos. And it’s not just the fillings, which run from the innovative (confit port belly with mango habañero salsa) to the classic (batter-fried local catch with Baja slaw and guac). The tortillas themselves are incredibly special, as we learned on a recent visit for Season 4 of Weekends with Yankee.

When Vargas took over the reins at Vida, after stints in California, New York, and Mexico, he knew he had to raise the restaurant’s tortilla game by making them fresh each day using store-bought masa flour. The tortillas were a hit, but as a passionate locavore, Vargas knew he could do better. Flint corn, after all, was a staple food of early New England. So he partnered with the Cox family of Tuckaway Farm in nearby Lee to grow the indigenous heirloom flint corn that now gives his tortillas such distinctively rich, nutty flavor. His team produces the tortillas in a separate facility, a converted mill building in Dover, New Hampshire, under the Vida Tortilla label, and sells them wholesale to restaurants and at select stores and farmers markets in the Seacoast region.

Vargas is looking to expand the tortilla business throughout New England and beyond. In the meantime, you can enjoy some of his signature flavor with the following recipe for scallop tacos. – Amy Traverso

For the Tacos:

For the New Mexico Vinaigrette:

For the Avocado Salsa: