Cooking in
British Columbia
Mexican
Tortillas de Plátano (Plantain Tortillas)
A regional tortilla from the Tuxtepec and Usila areas of Oaxaca, made by combining ground green plantain with corn tortilla masa. The plantain lends a subtly sweet, starchy character and a softer, more pliable texture than a pure corn tortilla. When cooked correctly on a hot clay comal, these rounds inflate — a sign that the inside steam has nowhere to escape, leaving a tender, pillowy interior. Diana Kennedy documented this preparation as part of the living corn and plantain traditions of lowland Oaxacan communities.
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Cook
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
4¼ lb
/ 2 kg green plantains (Musa paradisiaca), peeled and ground twice to a smooth paste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Approximately 2⅛ lb / 1 kg tortilla masa (fresh nixtamal masa preferred)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Clay comal (or heavy cast-iron griddle)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Tortilla press with two pieces of plastic cut from a zip-lock bag or thin plastic sheeting
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Large gourd or thick cloth-lined basket for keeping tortillas warm
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Grind peeled green plantains through a grain mill or stone mill twice, until the paste is completely smooth with no visible fibers.
2
Weigh the plantain paste. Combine with half its weight in fresh tortilla masa. Mix firmly by hand until the dough is uniform, slightly tacky, and holds together without crumbling.
From the canon — The corn tortilla is the foundational food of Mexican cuisine — a thin, round disc of nixtamalized masa cooked on an ungreased comal (flat griddle) until it … Tortilla — hand press, comal, and the puff →
3
Heat a clay comal over medium-high heat until a drop of water skips and evaporates immediately — approximately 220–230°C / 428–446°F surface temperature.
4
Portion the dough into balls slightly larger than a golf ball. Place one ball between two sheets of plastic on the tortilla press and press into a round approximately 15–18 cm / 6–7 inches in diameter.
5
Peel back the top plastic. Slide your hand under the bottom plastic and carry the dough round, plastic-side up, to the hot comal. Lay it down gently and peel away the plastic.
6
Cook on the first side briefly — 30 to 45 seconds — until the edges begin to set and the surface loses its raw sheen.
7
Flip and cook the second side longer, approximately 60–75 seconds, until light golden patches appear.
8
Return to the first side for a final 20–30 seconds. Press lightly with a folded cloth; the tortilla should inflate.
9
Transfer to the gourd or basket immediately and cover. Repeat with remaining dough.
III
Sensory Tests
◇Press the cooked tortilla gently at its centre immediately after it comes off the comal — a properly made tortilla will yield with slight resistance and spring back, signalling a moist, pillowed interior; one that is dense and does not yield at all has never puffed and will be gummy throughout.
◇Tear the tortilla open within 60 seconds of leaving the comal and observe the cross-section: a successful tortilla reveals two distinct, separable layers with visible steam escaping from a hollow pocket; a failed one shows a single dense, wet crumb with no internal separation.
◇Smell the raw combined dough before cooking — green plantain produces a faint, grassy, almost resinous scent alongside the sour-alkaline aroma of nixtamalized masa; if the plantain smell dominates sharply or smells of ripe banana, the fruit was too mature and the dough will not cook correctly.
◇Where it lives or dies. The tortilla lives or dies in the first 30 seconds on the comal: the surface must be hot enough — 230–245 °C (446–473 °F) — that the exterior sets rapidly and traps interior steam, forcing the tortilla to puff. A comal that is too cool allows moisture to escape slowly from the edges, the layers never separate, and no amount of additional cooking time will recover the pillowed interior.
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V
What to Pour
The pairing
Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley Riesling
Ancient Lakes Vineyard — Cave B · Ancient Lakes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
Fort Berens Riesling
Fort Berens Estate Winery · Lillooet
Liberty Wine Merchants · Vancouver →See all 2 →Wine
Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VI
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen