Tacos are a go-to weekday meal for many families, much to the delight of kids who can dress their tacos the way they like. Unfortuntely, for people like myself who avoid gluten and corn products, store-bought tortillas are not an option and this puts a major damper on taco night. I have now tried several recipes for gluten and corn-free tortillas and by far the best ones are made from plantains.
The tortillas proved easy to make and when I tasted them, I think my heart skipped a few beats- they were so good!
When I made tortillas from plantain for the first time the recipe I followed stated that they were “so good, I wouldn’t even miss the real thing”. Having heard this countless times before only to be thoroughly disappointed each time, I had low expectations but high hopes. The tortillas proved easy to make and when I tasted them, I think my heart skipped a few beats- they were so good! I don’t want anyone to think that these are comparable to corn or wheat tortillas in terms of texture- they are more like a flat bread but they can be used in place of regular tortillas since the plantain goes so well with Mexican flavours.
These have become a staple for me, I keep a few in the freezer for breakfasts like huevos rancheros or as a quick pizza crust. But since the recipe is so easy and they’re so delicious fresh out of the oven, I often prepare them even on a busy weeknight. If you leave them longer than the suggested cooking time, they will get hard and crispy; so if it’s the box tacos that you're after you're in luck... just fold them when they're cooked and hang them from your oven shelf grate until they get hard and you can have your 1980s El Passo tacos. Even if you are not avoiding gluten and corn, you will still love these tortillas!
Ingredients:
3 plantains (yellow but still hard or green)
¼ cup of melted coconut oil (if using a Vitamix, melting is not necessary)
½ tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Note: It definitely helps to have a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, Blendtec or Ninja. If you don’t have one, use yellow plantains and a stick blender and work in smaller batches. The softer plantains are sweeter tasting, and so you will have a sweet-tasting tortilla. You don't want ripe plantains, they are too sweet and you won't get a doughy texture like you do with the less ripe ones.
Step 1- Add the ingredients:
Peel plantains by scoring them with a knife and then tearing the peels off. Cut them into big chunks and add them to your blender along with your coconut oil and salt.
Step 2- Mash them to a pulp
Starting on a low setting and slowly increasing the speed, blend until you have a dough with a smooth consistency.
Step 3- Prepare them for the oven
Take out 2 baking sheets. Depending on your baking sheets you may want to line them with parchment paper. If you are confident that nothing sticks to your baking sheet then don’t bother- they turn out crispier when they are directly on the metal. Using a big spoon, scoop about ¼ cup of dough onto your baking sheet and with the back of the spoon flatten out until it’s about 5” in diameter. I am usually able to get about 9 tortillas.
Step 4- Bake them in the oven
Put them in the oven and after 20 minutes, flip them over and then let them cook for another 5-10 minutes. Once out of the oven, let them cool for a minute or so and then start adding your toppings and rejoice in the goodness!