Tortillas de Cassava
Are you familiar with Cassava tortilla, often known as cassava root? It is the tapioca root from which tapioca starch is extracted. Cassava is commonly consumed in South America, Asia, and Africa. This starchy root is extremely versatile, with applications ranging from fries to cakes! It has a fair amount of calcium, vitamin C, and phosphorus. But, in my opinion, the greatest draw is how tasty it can be when fashioned into a dough.
I originally heard of Cassava tortillaCheck out her excellent recipes if you're looking for cassava dough ideas and suggestions! Jennifer reigns supreme as Yuca Queen! Once you've mastered the dough, you can experiment with it and utilise it for a variety of purposes; let your imagination go wild! In this post, I'll show you how to make yuca dough into tortillas. The texture and flavour are fantastic! The closest thing I've had to a wheat tortilla!
Before we begin, a word of caution. The raw root contains trace amounts of cyanide. Don't worry, you can eat it safely if you cook it properly! It is mainly abundant in the peel (which we remove) and is neutralised by cooking. Just don't consume it uncooked! Most recipes require for boiling the cassava powder before proceeding with the cooking procedure. This double cooking method makes you extremely safe! Some stores may also sell bags of pre-boiled, frozen cassava (chunks or grated). Try your local Asian market. You may substitute this for the cassava in this tortilla recipe.
Check out this beautiful video on how to properly peel and cassava powder. The only difference is that I sliced it into smaller pieces (which cuts the boiling time down to about 10 min.).
Tortillas de Cassava
2.5 cups boiled yuca chunks (peel, cut, and boil first. After that, place it in the freezer. You want defrosted but still chilly yuca.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon pink salt (or sea salt)
1/4 cup coconut flour plus more
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a food processor or Vitamix, combine the yuca, oil, and salt. You'll need to pulse then tamp, pulse then tamp, and so on. Please be patient. When it begins to combine, stop and give it a good stir. Continue mixing until the mixture is sticky and dough-like. Try to catch it before it becomes too sticky (over processed), and remove it just as it begins to resemble a cohesive ball of dough.
Scrape the dough onto a parchment-lined counter. Sprinkle some coconut flour over the dough and knead it in until the dough can be handled without sticking to you. As needed, add a little more coconut flour.
Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Roll each one out between two pieces of parchment paper and lay on a baking sheet coated with parchment paper. (Three should fit on a single sheet.)
Bake for 8 minutes. (Don't worry, they'll puff up, which is a good thing.)
Preheat a frying pan on medium heat with a little coconut oil. When the oil is hot, cook each baked tortilla for about 1 minute per side. Until it begins to brown.
Serve hot.
Allow your tortillas to cool before storing them in an airtight container. If you aren't going to use them within a day or two, place them in a freezer bag with parchment or wax paper between each one. Defrost at room temperature.
*IMPORTANT* For best texture, reheat leftover or defrosted tortillas before using. Warm each side of the tortilla in a hot, greased pan for 30 seconds; they'll be as good as new!