Gluten Free Tortilla Alternative
Roots and Truth
Over nine years ago I had chronic illness symptoms that were threatening to take my life. I have been to the doctor over and over, just to be turned away with an explanation of,
“You have inflammation in your body.”
I’ve heard this so many times from Western Medicine, but the challenge is I don’t even know what they’re explaining when they say that. It is just a word to me.
This little piece of explanation, and massive symptoms that were debilitating, shoved me down the avenue of diet change.
I have literally been reading, researching and studying diets for over nine years now.
My intention behind my study and experimentation?
—to lower the high levels of inflammation in my body!
Nine years! This has been so much exposure to scientific information and personal experimentation.
You can read more of my personal story in this article: Why I Started Seeking
I can honestly say, after receiving ideas of what to eat from books and social media, I can’t think of a food that hasn’t been diabolically attacked!
There is information on the web that will demonize any food. If you look for it, you can probably find it. If you don’t look for it, it may show up on your social media feed anyway.
Wow! it’s overwhelming. Especially if you have the best intentions to feel better in a hurting body.
With all my best intentions, to EAT TO HEAL has been at the top of my mind, so I have spent more then a decade sifting through the muck.
Although I am learning how to discern the fear-mongering foodie from the naïve-systemized influencer trying to make a buck, I can say that navigating the diet world, in short, is confusing!
Today I would like to share a recipe that fits most of the inflammatory diet recommended foods. I have been eating this easy-to-make tortilla for years!
It is a versatile base that could be used for a variety of meals!
Ingredients
This tortilla takes two ingredients, plus your choice of salt. First a baked sweet potato. (Either a white-fleshed potato, or organge.) Bake it at 400° F for around 40 minutes, or until a fork moves through the potato easily.
The Second ingredient is cassava flour. Cassava is a root that is grown natively in South America. It is also grown in different parts of Africa and Asia. The root is made into a flour that has a fairly low glycemic index, and has been kind to me with my specific blood sugar issues.
The brands that I most commonly use are Bob’s Red Mill® and Otto’s Naturals.
Step by Step Process
After baking the sweet potato, simply peel with fingers. The peel should come right off. It if it hot, be careful and work quickly!!
In a wide bowl, mash the potato with a fork. Add salt. (I just shake salt on with my salt shaker.)
Add the amount of cassava flour listed in the recipe below. First stir around with a fork, then start to combine the dough together with your hands. (The green flecks in the above picture is chopped basil. This ingredient is optional.)
Press the dough into a ball about the size of a normal sized fist. Tear off two pieces of parchment paper. place the dough on one piece and put the second piece of parchment on the top of the ball of dough.
Start to roll the dough in-between the two pieces of parchment paper as shown in the lower picture. I use a rolling pin. If a rolling pin in not available try using a flat sided cup as shown.
Roll the dough out until it is very thin. Think tortilla thin. Then slowly pul the paper back, folding it back towards the other paper, as shown in the above picture. (This step is important. Especially if you have a very soft dough.
Preheat a pan or a griddle to medium heat, or around 300° F. Flip the sweet potato tortilla, that is still stuck to the bottom piece of parchment paper, over on to a preheated pan.
Make sure the pan is hot to have a the desired texture and flexibility of the sweet potato tortilla
After the sweet potato tortilla looks dry, like the picture above, flip it over with a spatula, and cook it on the other side. Depending on the heat of your pan this should just take a few minutes to dry out like the tortilla in the picture. (It isn’t technically dry, this is just how the cassava flour looks after the first side is cooked.)
Cook the second side for one minute. Remove from the pan and used as desired.
How to Use the Cooked Tortilla
This recipe is very versatile.
With the herb-basil tortilla I made a wrap. Inside there is a vegan cashew dressing, romaine lettuce, peeled carrot ribbons, red onions thinly slice, and roasted yellow peppers.
A flavor bomb of YUM!!
The example above is I made a breakfast burrito with cream cheese, spinach leaves, avocado slices, and a fried egg. A quick and balanced breakfast! Delish!!
One more tip. If I am making one tortilla for lunch, I save the remaining dough in the fridge for so I can roll it out and cook it the next day. It stores wonderfully!
No matter what diet you are on currently, I believe that you could find something to stuff into this quick and easy recipe!
If you work full time, I would suggest baking the sweet potatoes on the weekend when you have more time. Store the already baked sweet potatoes in the fridge, and then mash them up and make the dough during the week when you need to prepare a quick meal. The dough literally takes 5 minutes to make, and three minutes to cook.
Just curious, what would you stuff or add to your tortilla? Happy cooking and the best to you if you are trying to reduce inflammation in your body as well!
Sweet Potato Tortilla
I try to always bake a sweet potato ahead of time in a oven set to 400 F. They bake for 50 minutes (or a little less time, depending on the size) unwrapped with the skin still on.
Ingredients
- 1 orange-fleshed sweet potato
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil or avocado oil (optional, see note*)
- Dash of salt
Instructions
- Smash the sweet potato with a fork. Add a dash of salt. Mix in the chopped basil and cassava flour using a food processor or your hands until it forms a smooth-soft dough. Roll out some of the dough in between two pieces of parchment paper.
- Cook the tortilla on a heated sauté pan. Cook on medium heat. Flip the wrap when it looks dry. Cook the other side. (This usually takes a minute on each side.)
- *If I am making them for taquitos, I add a teaspoon of olive oil or avocado oil. A little bit of oil helps them brown up when they bake.
Notes
This recipe is very versatile. I often use white-fleshed sweet potatoes!
Heads Up, those typically take less cassava flour then the orange sweet potatoes do.
I’ve used this recipe as a crepe replacement as well! (Omit the basil if you are intending to use it as a crepe.)
I’ve made wraps with this tortilla and enchiladas and burritos!!
This is a base recipe.
CURIOUS—What would you use as a filling in this tortilla?
Hi, I’m Cami—A creativity enthusiast!
This blog began first with an instagram page where I was sharing my colorful recipes! Eventually, I needed more space to start writing my story. You can read more of my story on this post: Why I started Seeking
I now write to encourage others to start remembering where they come from. Even if it steps into a lonely space, I believe there is healing within our stories, if only we start sharing them.
Please join me as I continue to heal my body through the unfolding of my own story.
