Grain Free Skillet "Corn" Bread

As many of you know, I have used plantains as a base for some of my recipes.  I quickly found that plantains have a bit of a corn taste to them when cooked.  When I made this "Tortilla" Chip Recipe, I knew I had found a corn meal replacement...and a substitute for my corn tortilla chip addiction!  A couple years ago, tortilla chips were my go to snack since they were gluten free.  Today, I won't touch anything made with corn for many reasons, including that it can be irritating to the gut and it's one of the main GMO foods sold today!

Recently I created a simple Grain Free "Corn" Tortilla Recipe made from roasted plantain chips ground into a meal.  This got the creative juices flowing...what else can I make with "corn" meal?  How about some skillet corn bread to serve along side your favorite soups and stews this winter (maybe try The Paleo Mom’s Hearty Beef Stew, Offal (But Not Awful) Stew or Paleo Pumpkin Chili)!  This dense bread was a huge hit served straight from the oven with some grass-fed butter!

Inspired by a recipe from Nom Nom Paleo

Grain Free Skillet “Corn” Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups Honeyville Almond Flour
• 1 cup roasted plantain chip meal*
• 2 pastured eggs (I order from Tropical Traditions)
• 2 1/2 tbsp grass-fed butteror ghee
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tbsp honey (optional)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Combine the flour, plantain meal, soda and salt in a bowl
3. Cut 1 1/2 tbsp of cold butter into small pieces and toss into the flour mixture. With hands, work the butter into the mixture so it’s crumbly
4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, lemon juice, vinegar and honey
5. Melt the remaining 1 tbsp of butter over medium heat in a cast iron skillet
6. Dig a little hole in the center of your flour mixture and pour the egg mixture in the flour. Mix until a dough is formed
7. Turn off the skillet. Make sure the melted butter is covering the entire bottom of the skillet
8. Place the ball of dough in the center of the skillet and press down until it’s about an inch and a half high
9. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes

Quick notes

*About 2 cups of chips yields 1 cup of meal.  Roasted plantain chips can be found in the bulk section at Sprouts or in the pre-packages bulk section of Whole Foods. They should only contain plantains, palm oil and salt.

Variations

Solidified coconut oil may work in place of the butter, but I have not tried that.

Feel free to spice this up with some jalapenos or other spices!

Kate's Healthy Cupboard - Gluten Free Recipes

Grain Free "Corn" Tortillas

The other day, a fellow gluten free blogger asked for suggestions for a corn flour substitution.  One of her readers wanted to make tamales but needed corn flour.  I had a brilliant idea and shared it with everyone on my Facebook Page, but wanted to let all of you in on the idea as well.

I have a "Corn" Tortilla Chip recipe made from green plantains that really do have a corn taste to them.  I knew plantains were the answer here, but not plantain flour (too starchy and doesn't have a corn taste).  I suggested buying the roasted plantain chips that Whole Foods (prepackaged in section with nuts, dried fruits, chocolate covered everything.  May not be in bulk aisle but somewhere else in store) and Sprouts sell in their bulk section and grind it in a food processor until flour is formed.  What a great idea!!!

That immediately got me thinking about corn tortillas and how many recipes I could do with them!  I tried this recipe so many different ways.  I tried to use my tortilla chip recipe and grind them up, I tried fresh green plantains roasted with coconut oil, and I tried the store bought chips I mention above.  The winner is the store bought chips!  The others just don't grind into a fine enough flour so the dough doesn't stick together.  The roasted plantain chips are simply plantains, palm olein oil and salt.  Palm oil is like coconut oil, a healthy saturated fat full of health benefits.

Palm oil is extracted from the flesh of the fruit of E. Guineesis.  The oil is semi-solid at room temperature and is highly resistant to oxidation and prolonged exposure to heat.  The palm olein has different characteristics than the palm oil, it remains completely liquid at room temperature.  It is highly heat resistant, similar to palm oil, and it also resists the formation of breakdown products during frying and increases the shelf life of many products.  Although palm oil and palm olein are produced from the same plant and share many similar properties, the main difference between them is their chemical state at room temperature.  Semi-solid palm oil is used more frequently as a fat in bakery products, whereas liquid palm olein is considered the "gold standard" and is the most widely used oil for frying in the world.

This is such an easy recipe and blows the socks off any tortilla recipe that calls for almond or coconut flour and some eggs!  I just can't throw fajitas in those and feel like they are tortillas.  These can be cooked a bit longer to make them crisp or less to make them soft.  Either way you can fold or roll them and feel like you are cheating and enjoying Mexican food again!!!  I can't wait to make tacos next week!

Grain Free “Corn” Tortillas

Makes 10 small tortillas

Ingredients

• 2 cups (heaping) roasted salted plantain chips* (should produce 1 cup four)
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Place the plantain chips in a food processor and grind to a fine flour
2. In a mixing bowl, add a cup of flour to the water and mix well
3. Knead the dough and form into 10 equal size balls
4. Place a ball on parchment paper and then place another piece of parchment over the top
5. Roll out into a thin small tortilla or use a tortilla press
6. Carefully peel off the dough from the parchment, they are thin and delicate!
7. Cook eat tortilla in an ungreased skillet over medium high heat for 30 -60 seconds on each side, slightly brown

Quick notes

*These are found at Whole Foods (read text above) or sold in bulk at Sprouts.

Kate's Healthy Cupboard - Gluten Free Recipes

Plantain Flour Tortillas

Plantain Flour...what the heck is that and where do you find it?  I had no idea there was such a thing until a few months back.  I ordered a bunch and have been experimenting with this starchy, moisture absorbing flour.  After I created the Plantain Tortilla Chips Recipe, I knew I could make some sort of a tortilla as well.  I will probably still try a "corn tortilla" that could be used for an open face taco, but until then, these bendable tortillas are perfect for tacos, burritos, wraps and so much more!!!  I love them warm with melted butter and rolled up.  I think next time I might add some cinnamon too!

There are so many different grain free tortilla recipes out there using almond flour and/or coconut flour.  I just don't think they taste much like a tortilla.  These turned out to be the next best thing to a gluten filled one.  If you have recently been eating "normal" tortillas, these may seem weird, but if you are used to the very different "bread like" products of the gluten free world, you will enjoy these!  They actually bend without breaking and have that doughy taste and feel to them.  I think they are best when served warm and used the same day they are made.  They are fine a day or two later, but like most baked goods, they are best fresh and warm.  I can't wait to try this in an enchilada recipe.

Recipe: Plantain Flour Tortillas

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp palm shortening, softened
• 1 tbsp grass-fed butter, melted
• 2 cups non-dairy milk (I used plain carton coconut milk)
• 1 cup plantain flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• coconut oil for the skillet

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth
2. Heat a greased skillet (I used a small one) on med-high heat
3. Once it is hot, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto pan and swirl around to coat it
4. Cook until brown and flip to cook the other side
5. I took the pan off the burner and lowered heat between cooking each one. It seems to get too hot and the batter won't swirl around. If you lower the heat, it won't brown the tortilla and make it crispy.

Makes about 10 small tortillas

Plantain Flour is inexpensive compared to nut and coconut flours.  It can be found on Amazon, but is less expensive to order it directly from the company, Barry Farms.  Here is another pancake recipe using Plantain Flour that will make it worth your while to purchase some of it!

Kate's Healthy Cupboard - Gluten Free Recipes

Plantain Tortilla Chips

I am so excited about this recipe!  This would have been the perfect Cinco de Mayo recipe, but I am a few days late.  I was attempting crackers and loved the result, but realized they tasted like corn chips so I had to make another batch that looked like chips (bummer, I have to eat another batch).

I was once a tortilla chipaholic, it was bad!  I think when going gluten free, that was the only thing I could have that was cracker like so I turned to that bag quite often.  I have chosen to no longer eat corn as of a year ago, so to create a replacement that is grain free...gets me excited!

There are many reasons why I have chosen to give up corn, most importantly because it's a grain.  Sorry folks, it is not a vegetable, it is a grain.  A grain that is one of the number one GMO foods out there.  It can cause intestinal distress much like gluten and cause silent inflammation just like gluten.  That's all I need to hear to quite eating something.  Now if only someone would tell me dark chocolate does the same thing!!!  I need an intervention...but it's so darn good!

I have been into plantains for a while now and am waiting on the arrival of plantain flour!!!   What the heck is a plantain, a big banana?  Plantains tends to be firmer and lower in sugar than bananas. Bananas are almost always eaten raw, while plantains tend to be cooked either when green or unripe (starchy) or overripe (sweet).  They are a good source of potassium, fiber and starchy carbohydrates (perfect for endurance athletes).

Plantains are a staple in tropical regions of the world, much the same way as potatoes are here.  They have a pretty neutral flavor, the unripe fruit is typically cooked by steaming, boiling or frying.  I buy or make plantain chips myself that are just sliced plantains that have been roasted or baked.  They satisfy the crunch, but this recipe is even better and partners up well with guacamole or fresh salsa!

Recipe: Plantain Tortilla Chips

Ingredients

• 3 unripe (green) plantains, peeled*
• 2 tbsp refined coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• coarse sea salt to sprinkle

Instructions

1. Peel and slice the plantains into about 1/4 inch slices and lay flat on a cookie sheet for about an hour (this can be skipped if plantains don't seem very moist, wet on the fresh slice side)
2. Add the plantains and oil to a food processor and combine until smooth
3. Once all the lumps are gone, add the sea salt and quickly combine
4. Place the mixture on a sheet of greased parchment paper the size of your cookie sheet
5. If the dough is dry enough, place another piece of parchment over the top and with a rolling pin, roll out to about 1/8 inch thick rectangle. If the dough seems too wet, spread out evenly with a spatula (I have had dry and I have had wet plantains, not sure what contributes to that)
6. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into the shape and size of chip you prefer
7. Sprinkle coarse sea salt or regular sea salt over the top of the dough and slide the paper onto a cookie sheet
8. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. You may need to remove some chips as you go that brown faster than the others.  Make sure to cook them long enough or they will be chewy instead of crunchy
9. Remove cookie sheet and let chips cool
10. You may need to re-cut the chips or you can break them along the cut lines
11. Store in an airtight container, glass is my favorite

Quick notes

*The easiest way to peel a plantain is to first cut off the ends. Then with a knife, slice along the pronounced ridges (about 3 of them). Don't worry if you cut into the plantain, it won't matter. Peel one section at a time, it should come off pretty easily.

Unripe (green) plantains can be hard to find.  I prefer the green for their no sugar content and they have less moisture in them.  I have had the best luck going to Sprouts or Sunflower Market and asking if they have any unripe green plantains in the back, they usually do.  Asian markets carry them as well and they are always green there since they go through so many of them.  Whole Foods sells them but they tend to be very yellow and brown, it can be hit or miss there.

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Kate's Healthy Cupboard - Gluten Free Recipes