cassava flour wraps (gluten-free, starch-free)

Dear neighbors, what you see in the photo above are gluten-free yet pliable wraps. I am really, really happy with them. Some people would have labeled them « the best ever » in an attempt to attract more readers, but I won’t. Besides, claiming any recipe as « THE best » might discourage you from making your own variations, which would be very un-pedagogical, coming from a former teacher, one who also keeps tweaking things every now and then looking for the holy grail of gluten-free foods… Although in this particular case, and after making several batches, I can say that I have finally nailed it down in keeping with our personal taste.

To make these wraps I completely ignored the bag of rice flour in my pantry. My husband and I are not too keen on rice flour ; the end products systematically taste dry not matter what. Luckily for me cassava flour is once again available locally and apples are in season. As in most gluten-free recipes, each ingredient is there for a purpose : for instance, here I prefer cassava flour to teff for its more neutral taste.  For your information, I have tried this homegrown recipe with buckwheat flour also; the wraps actually tasted good (although not at all like wheat wraps) BUT did not fold without breaking – very disappointing.  I will try to come up with a solution, unless one of my dear neighbors does it for me, as this is a more readily available and cheaper type of flour.  Maybe some ground chia in the water will do the trick? The only issue with cassava that I am aware of is its high content in carbohydrates, not really one if you are physically active, right?  As for the grated apple, it helps the dough stay pliable after cooking. During my very first experiment with this recipe, the wraps were a little too sweet, so I cut down the amount of apple. The final wraps still hint at some sweetness, but ever so slightly that it is not an issue, at least not for us, regardless of the filling. Besides, many store-bought wraps out there have added sugar among an interesting long list of ingredients, sulfites included!

And if your favorite filling includes mayonnaise, I highly recommend making it yourself, using this recipe, introduced to me by Jack a while back. So easy to make, you just need an immersion blender, an egg, some sulfite-free mustard (made with distilled white vinegar), rice vinegar or fresh lemon juice, and the vegetable oil of your choice (I often use grapeseed oil).

One final word : I have made sure that the quantities are easily divisible, so that you have the option of trying only one or two wraps before you decide for yourself if you will adopt (or adapt, ha-ha) this recipe.

Ingredients ( makes 4 wraps)

– 140g / 5 oz organic cassava flour

– a pinch of all natural sea salt

– ¼ tsp baking soda

– 4 tsp yogurt of your choice (ours is non-dairy) – this along with the baking soda will give the wraps a little « fluff »

– 4 tsp cashew butter – but I think almond butter would work just as well*

– 50 ml / 1.7 oz / 10 tsp water

My daughter and I found this nifty “measure-n-pour” glass in a store.  Very useful!

– 75 g / 2.6 oz coarsely grated apple – to be prepared and added last, to avoid oxidation

– some oil for cooking (I used olive oil)

* If possible, whatever your choice, use all natural nut butter, free of any added oil.

How to:

1. Mix nut butter with yogurt and add water.

2. Put all dry ingredients in your food processor.  Add wet mix from step 1.

3. Grate apple and add to other ingredients in food processor. Blend until ball forms – between 20 and 30 seconds. If after that time the mixture doesn’t seem to be shaping correctly, add a little water.

4. Film and refrigerate for at least an hour.

5. Weigh and divide dough into equal amounts, roughly 75 g per wrap.

6. Shape each portion into a circle between oiled greaseproof paper and film, at first with your hand and then with a rolling pin. The wrap should be about 20cm / 8 inches in diameter. I use a small plate as a guide. Remove protecting film from top of  uncooked dough.

7. Place the dough on a heated lightly oiled non-stick pan, GREASEPROOF PAPER STILL ATTACHED FACING YOU. Lower the heat and let the first side cook for about 3 minutes. As it does, it will dry and you will be able to peel off the paper without any trouble. Flip the wrap to cook the other side for another 3 minutes, while you prepare the next one on the same piece of greaseproof paper, not forgetting to brush it afresh with some olive oil.

The dough cooking in the pan with the grease proof paper still attached. It is safe to start peeling off the paper starting with the right side, where darker spots are showing.

paper removed from first side

wrap flipped to cook the second side

 

8. Place the cooked wrap on a covered plate until filling time in order to keep it moist. The wraps are best used immediately, but they can be stored in the fridge for a day (two maybe?) and “made fresh” again by microwaving them for 10 to 20 seconds – the time depends on your microwave.

wrap flipped to cook the second side