Gastography

I struggled in naming this recipe. This is a straight-up paleo recipe – restrictive, delicious – but so much more. I’m trying to steer clear of the ‘paleo’ label, but I find much of what I’ve been making lately falling firmly in that category. The hubbs and I are trying something different this fall – gone are the whole grain and lentil-heavy dishes of previous seasons; in are the veg and meat-laden dishes prescribed by the followers of paleo-style diets. We’ve decided to limit our intake of dairy to good-quality butter, to forego glutinous starches, to limit our intake of non-gluten substantive substances like lentils, beans and legumes (except for the occasional quinoa and near-weekly sushi nights). We shall see how this goes long-term, but so far we’re kind of liking it. Finding the right fat-to-everythingelse ratio has been challenging (for the hubbs at least, who was making some kind of crazy-ass bulletproof coffee drink with butter and coconut oil and who seems to need more than a salad & exercise goo as fuel for a long run). I seem to be faring better in the switch – other than not being able to cuddle with chickpeas and lentils lashed with greek yogurt, not a huge change (except for upping my meat intake, which isn’t the easiest thing when meal planning – I love me some vegetarian dishes).

For those of you that enjoy my mostly vegetarian dishes, never fear – I’m not abandoning those at all. I will most likely be posting more side dishes that can easily be bumped up to become vegetarian mains. Like this one. These ‘tortillas’ are really, really good. Tortillas isn’t quite the right term, here – they’re more like a crepe – but whatever the taxonomy, they work just fine as a taco wrapper. They taste a little coconutty, a little spicy, and a lot good. I could easily see this basic blueprint morphing into a sandwich wrapper or a pancake with very little trouble. Come to think of it, these would kick ass in place of a crepe in one of those huge cone-shaped sandwiches. Some grilled veggies, something in place of the hummus I’d naturally gravitate toward, a little balsamic, a little garlic… that sounds like sandwich heaven. Ham and cheese also comes to mind, for the non lactose-averse.

Enough with the daydreaming; I’m making myself hungry. I was first introduced to these tasty babies through PaleOMG’s recipe for Pork Avocado Cream Enchiladas. I’m a sucker for avocado crema. Love, love, love it. I could eat it on anything – and have, actually (as a pasta sauce, burger topper, by the spoonful, in ice cream, etc.). I’m also a huge lover of all things tacos, so this was a no-brainer. The entire dish was fabulous – so fabulous, I made the tortillas again for lunch the next day with the tweaks I’d envisioned the night before and polished off every last bit of the leftovers taco-style in a single sitting. Yum. So without further ado: tortilla-y crepes.

Restrictive But Delicious Paleo Tortillas

6 egg whites
3 Tbsp. coconut flour
6-8 Tbsp. coconut milk
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Big pinch salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried, ground chipotle
1-2 Tbsp. coconut oil

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. If your batter is too stiff, add a little more coconut milk or some water until it thins out to the consistency you want – somewhere between what you woud use for a thick pancake and a crepe – not too watery, and you’ll have a huge mess; not too pasty, or you’ll have a hard time spreading into a thin layer and you will end up with a pancake.

In your largest skillet, heat 1-2 Tbsp. coconut oil over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add a ladelfull of your batter and circle with your spoon to spread into a thin layer (newspaper thin is ideal).

When you can see the edges are browning and just beginning to turn up on the sides (everything will be smelling really nutty at this point), very carefully reach your thinnest most flexible spatula under and flip. Be gentle; these babies want to tear if they’re not quite ready to go. Brown on side 2; transfer to a plate to await filling. This week was all about shredded pork; next week I’m playing with an eggless version for ground beef tacos.

Serves 2-3, depending upon how hungry you are and how carried away you get with the batter on the first few. I ended up making 3 large tortillas and 1 baby tortilla because I’ve only made pancakes like twice in my life and had zero idea of portion size. If you’re a pancake maker, think silver dollar pancake size servings and you will be fine.