Flourless Plantain TortillasLow Calorie And Gluten Free

Green Plantains make delicious grain-free tortillas.
And, they are less than 40 calories!

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Gluten and Grain-Free Tortillas

Most people buy corn tortillas when they are trying to avoid gluten or products made from various gluten-free grains such as brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, millet, teff, and sorghum. But if you want to avoid grains completely, here's a brilliant alternative that my friend Margarite introduced me to - making tortillas from green plantains!

Make sure to buy green plantains, not ripe ones.

Plantains may look like bananas but they are starchy, not sweet. They are not eaten as a fruit and must be cooked. The biggest difference is that they are not as easy to peel! But I'll be showing you a trick to make that easier. 

Although most plantain tortilla recipes just use plantains, I've jazzed these up with seasonings, and herbs. And of course I added some freshly harvested garlic. For my herbs, I used the lemon basil from my garden, but you can use any of your favorite herbs. Cilantro works well. For the chili lime spice, I used Rancho Gordo but you can use Tajin. Here's the recipe!

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Green Plantain Tortillas

Vegan, Gluten Free

[makes 18 tortillas]

Requirements

Medium saucepan to boil plantains

Food processor

Non-stick or cast iron griddle

Tortilla press or two flat plates

1-Quart size Ziplock plastic bag

Ingredients

2 green plantains

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped lemon basil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon chili lime spice 

Zest of 1 lime

Directions

Cut the ends off the plantain and cut it horizontally in 4 pieces. Slice each chunk vertically along its seam. This will make peeling them a lot easier after they are cooked.

Place the chunks of plantain into a pot of boiling water and cook until they just soften, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the skins and place the peeled plantains in a food processor with the remaining ingredients.

Process until the mixture turns into dough. Using your hands, turn the dough into 18 (1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch) balls.

Heat a griddle to medium high heat.

Place each ball in the center of a quart-sized plastic ziplock bag. Using a tortilla press or two flat plates, press the dough ball until it's a flat, 5-inch circle. You can buy a really nice Victoria 8 inch Cast Iron Tortilla Press for around $25 on Amazon.

Victoria 8 inch cast iron tortilla press.

Carefully peel off the plastic and place the tortilla on a heated grill. Cook for several minutes until the tortilla is slightly brown. Turn over and cook a bit longer, about a minute. Do one more quick flip, if needed, and you're done.

Cool a minute so that they are pliable and enjoy. To save and reheat, place a piece of wax paper between the leftover tortillas, place in a Ziplock bag and refrigerate. They will last several days. 

Nutrition:

Per tortilla: 36 calories, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 54 mg omega-3 and 379 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 1 g protein, 35 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, and 244 mg sodium*.

*Sodium with vary with the brand of chili-lime seasoning.