If you have been following along for a while, you know I love to use plantains in my cooking. From my first recipe, Maple Coconut Plantain Porridge: Identity in a Jar, to Plantain Chia Seed Breakfast Cookies to Fruity Plantain Chip Breakfast, it is a pretty versatile staple. There are even the recipes I haven’t posted but make often, like mofongo and tostones.
So when Elsy from Creole Me Up in the Portland area posted a short video on Instagram for a basic plantain dough for tortillas, I had to try. Elsy is a Haitian chef who not only shares delicious recipes and Haitian sayings, she has a cottage business selling spices and condiments.
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As luck would have it, I had some pretty black plantains just crying out to be used. First, I cut the plantain tips like she demonstrated and ran a slit down the side. Mine was a little big for my pot so I also cut it in half. As you can see, unlike bananas, a plantain can still be good even when the outside is full on black.
Then I boiled the plantain until it was bursting at the seams. It was about 5-6 minutes.
Using tongs, I lifted the plantain at the peel and held it over the food processor until it dropped in.
I added a dash of salt then blended until smooth. She uses some oil but I forgot and the dough turned out just fine.
Next, I dropped a tablespoon of 1:1 gluten free flour into the food processor until it started to form a ball. For this one plantain, that was about 9 tablespoons. You could probably use any flour you like, coconut or finely ground almond would work.
Moving it into a small bowl, I kneaded it into a ball with about 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme. She uses fresh but I was winging it so I used the dried thyme I had on hand.
I rolled the dough out on my silpat because it has a ruler, I wanted the tortilla to fit in my cast iron pan. I turned the pan on to medium heat but didn’t add oil.
When the pan was hot, I placed the tortilla in and browned it on both sides. It was probably a little thicker than it should have been, next time I would make two thinner tortillas.
After about 3-4 minutes on each side, I removed the tortilla and sauteed some cabbage and bacon to go inside.
Because it was thick, I couldn’t wrap it up like a burrito like Elsy did but it did fold nicely in half for picking up to eat. I was impressed by how it held together and didn’t crack like so many gluten free tortillas do.
What I really liked is that when my plantains get that black on the outside, they are sweet enough for desserts. I wasn’t sure how it would be for a more savory dish. But with the salt and thyme, it really wasn’t as sweet as I thought it might be and worked nicely with the cabbage and bacon. I am excited to try other combinations!
What do you think? Would you try eating plantains this way? What would you put inside?
If you live in the Portland area, you can find Elsy at local farmer’s markets and store with her
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