Dasheen (taro) leaf or spinach roti wrap (gluten free and vegan)

In my home country, roti is not a special once in a while treat. Many eat roti every day either for breakfast or at lunch and dinner. Plus there are many types of roti each prepared alongside it's particular set of curries or stews.

Our Sada Roti, is the one favored for breakfast or dinner in place of bread. It is similar to pita bread but fluffier and softer. This roti recipe is for a green version of sada roti, made with dasheen (taro) or spinach leaves.

This is surprisingly delicious, the green color might make you doubt that, but it really is quite yummy. We have dasheen "bush" growing in the backyard so it takes little effort to pick the leaves and prepare the puree. I also use spinach leaves once I can get them at a decent price. They both work really well, I always get good reviews and my critic ain't easily swayed...😏

As a bonus, with the addition of tapioca starch in the recipe the roti is more pliable and can be used as a wrap (traditional sada roti is not "bendable" like a wrap)!

Serve the roti with your favorite side (or 2), add a little chutney and enjoy. This is great way to eat your veggies!

Dasheen (taro) leaves roti

Spinach leaves roti

Gluten free, vegan dasheen (taro) leaf or spinach roti wrap recipe

Ingredients

1½ cup Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix*

½ cup tapioca starch**

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp sugar (optional but helps with the taste)

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vinegar

1 – 1¼ cup water

1 cup dasheen (taro) leaves cut into thin strips***

tapioca flour for dusting (any other finely ground GF flour or starch will work)

oil for shaping dough

*This is a Bobs Red Mill product. With all of the different flour mixes I tested (to date), this yields the best result when making gluten free roti

**Tapicoa starch makes the dough a bit more elastic which means that the texture of the finished product is good for a wrap. The tapioca starch can be omitted and replaced by the bread mix

***You can use the equivalent amount of spinach leaves

Directions

Add ¾ cup of the water, the vinegar and the dasheen (or spinach) leaves into a blender or food processor. Blend until the leaves are completely pureed. Set aside

Combine the bread mix, tapioca starch, baking powder, yeast and sugar in a bowl

Add the oil and the puree. Knead or mix into the dough until it holds together and is fairly smooth. Add more water, a little at a time until the dough is somewhat sticky and not stiff. If you are kneading by hand working with wet or oiled hands help

Rest the dough for about 15 minutes. You can skip this step and continue with the recipe. More rest can give you a softer roti or wrap. However, the softer it gets the more difficult the dough is to work with

Lightly flour your work surface, I use a silpat mat. With wet hands pinch off pieces of dough to form 4-6 balls. It may be best to work with smaller pieces until you get accustomed to working with gluten free dough

Knead and roll the dough lightly around on the floured surface to form a smooth ball. Use a light touch and as little flour as possible

Add a little oil to the palm of your hands and rub over the ball of dough. Set aside on a greased surface or bowl. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover the rounds with a warm tea cloth and leave to rest for at least ½ hour

Once the dough has rested, heat a tawa to moderate

Keeping the remaining pieces covered, on a lightly floured surface gently roll out one of the dough balls to about ½ inch thick. Turn the dough occasionally and add a little flour at a time to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface or tearing

Place the roti on the tawa to cook. Small bubbles will appear and the edges of the roti will set. Once the edges are set and the roti has pulled away from the tawa, flip and cook the other side. If you are familiar with making traditional sada type roti, you can try swelling the roti directly over the flame of a gas range (I discovered that my electric stove works for this as well). This will also add a bit of char to the roti but is completely optional

Once the roti has finished cooking, stack on a plate and cover with a warm kitchen towel. I would normally place a folded kitchen towel on the plate before stacking the roti. That prevents the roti from sweating on the plate as it cools. Additionally separate each roti with a piece of parchment paper so that they do not stick together

The roti is best served warm. To store wrap and freeze immediately as it's cooled. Reheat and serve at once.

Very Berry Tart on a Rice Cake Base

I am not a fan of rice cakes, those compressed discs of puffed rice have absolutely no appeal to me. If by some twist of fate I am “gifted” rice cakes, I will always transform them for use as an ingredient. You can easily infuse flavours at will because they are so bland. A chocolate tart or a rice cake base for a cheesecake sounds pretty good to me. Feeling inspired yet?

Gluten Free, Vegan Berry Tart on a Rice Cake Base

Ingredients

Base

2 cup crushed rice cakes (about 4 rice cakes)

½ cup ground almonds (chunky bits)

1 tbsp flaxmeal

¼ tsp salt (or as needed)*

2 tbsp vegan butter or margarine butter (29g)**

2 tbsp maple syrup (or to preference)*

Water

*The amount of salt and sweetener you use will depend on whether the rice cake is flavored enough as is

**The butter should be just softened, not runny

Additional spices or extracts e.g. cinnamon can be added to flavour the rice cake and almond base

Tart Filling

2 tbsp corn or potato starch

½ cup water

2 cups mixed fruit or berries (frozen)

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp lime or lemon juice (or to preference)

1 or 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters (optional)

Directions

Line the bottom of a 7” round baking tin with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350F

Place the crushed rice cakes, almonds, flaxmeal and salt in a bowl, stir to mix. You can add additional spices for extra flavour at this point. Add the softened butter and maple syrup. Massage the mixture until it is holding together. If necessary add a tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture is sticky enough and won't fall apart when pressed together. Place the mixture into the prepared tin, spread evenly and press firmly so it adheres to the parchment paper. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes until the top of the crust has browned and is set. Set aside to cool

While the crust is baking prepare the filling. I used frozen berries which can get soggy, so I opted to make the filling on my stovetop. In a skillet dissolve the corn or potato starch in water. Add the berries, salt, lime or lemon juice and bitters to the starch mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat. Stir gently so as not to crush the berries. Once the mixture has thickened to the consistency of a loose porridge, remove from the heat to cool. The mixture will thicken further as it cools, do not reduce until there is little or no liquid left. This takes less than 5 minutes so watch the mixture carefully

When the berry filling is cool to the touch, spoon it into the baking tin and spread it evenly over the cooled crust. I used a springform pan to bake the crust so before adding the berry mixture, I lined the sides with parchment paper for easy removal. Place in the refrigerator to set, 30 minutes or more, less if you place the tart in the freezer. Once set, cut into wedges, serve and enjoy! Wrap leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator

Gluten Free & Vegan Banana Puri (Banana Fry Bake)

In Trinidad and Tobago, banana puries would be the sweetened relative of fry bake or floats. The original banana puri recipe which hails from India is made without baking powder, cinnamon and vinegar. As the dough is gluten free, the baking powder and vinegar helps the puris to puff up. The cinnamon simply reminds me of banana bread.

Banana puries are the kind of just enough sweet treat you can pair with almost anything and have at any time of the day. Best of all the puries are kid approved! Especially for my Trini friends, if you're up to a culinary adventure give these puries a try.

Gluten Free & Vegan Banana Puri

Ingredients

1 cup gluten free flour*

1½ tsp baking powder

1/3 cup ripe mashed banana (about 1 medium banana)

1 tbsp brown sugar

pinch of cardamom powder (elychee)

pinch of cinnamon (optional)

½ tbsp vegetable oil**

¼ cup coconut milk

1 tsp vinegar***

2 tbsp ground almonds

Enough oil for deep frying

Tapioca starch or other flour to dust work surface

*I used Bob's Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix

**I used coconut oil

***Best used if you cannot rest the dough

Directions

Combine the flour and baking powder. Set aside

Peel and mash the banana. Mix in the sugar, the spices, oil, coconut milk, vinegar if using and almonds

Add the flour to the banana mixture and combine to form a soft but workable dough. The dough should be sticky to the touch, if is is not add water a little at a time

Divide the dough into palm sized portions and roll into smooth balls, the balls should still be fairly moist. You can work on a flour dusted surface to shape the dough. Wet or oiled hands will help

Cover and set the dough rounds aside for 30 – 60 minutes, more if you can. You can skip the rest and continue with the recipe. The stickier the dough, the better if you decide to skip the rest

Heat the oil for deep frying

When the oil is ready, flatten each ball into a palm sized disc either in your hand or on the floured work surface. Place the puri gently in the oil, fry until puffed and deep brown on each side

Drain on paper towels. Puries are best served warm but can be kept wrapped in a tea towel and served later in the day