Almond flour tortillas stand in for wheat perfectly in these enchiladas

When it comes to tortillas, in my opinion, wheat is the best: soft, chewy, wonderful. Corn tortillas aren't bad. They're just not wheat tortillas.

I've steered clear of wheat-based foods, like bread, for three years. It's not a gluten issue. It's that, for me, wheat triggers a strong path to overeating.

Earlier this month, a friend called me from Costco and asked if I wanted him to pick up a Costco-size package of gluten-free almond flour tortillas. I eagerly said yes.

He brought them over a few days later. I didn't know what I wanted to do with them. Enchiladas seemed like a good idea, but I'd never made enchiladas before.

A quick internet search found a good beef enchilada recipe at allrecipes.com. That recipe required red enchilada sauce and taco seasoning, which I bought later that day.

Did I make those enchiladas? No.

A few days later, I asked my partner Nan, since she'd made enchiladas before we were together, if she would make them and use that recipe since I had an appointment that would bring me home just before dinner time.

Fortunately, Nan said yes.

Nan used as many organic ingredients as possible that we already had and some previously frozen organic ground beef.

When I got home, Nan pulled the prepared enchilada casserole out of the oven. The aromas truly got my mouth watering. It was hard to wait to have one.

I asked Nan if using the almond-flour tortillas was difficult compared to wheat-based ones. She said they worked well and rolled up easily.

First, I took a picture of Nan's enchilada casserole, and then we sat down to dinner.

The tortilla's texture was fine, soft and smooth. And the flavor was excellent. Unfortunately, the tortillas did not hold up as well as wheat tortillas, so it's helpful to have utensils handy.

The wheat-free almond flour tortillas worked so well that I began brainstorming other recipes in which I could use them. One idea was to try them as a pizza crust.

If you can find almond flour tortillas, give my enchiladas a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

Don's Wheat-Free, No-Sugar Beef Enchiladas

1 1/3 pounds, 85/15 ground beef, preferably organic

¼ medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1¼ cups (5 ounces) shredded organic cheddar cheese, divided

½ cup organic sour cream

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups red enchilada sauce, preferably organic

1½ teaspoons chili powder

1 clove garlic, minced

8 almond flour tortillas

1 15-ounce can organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 4-ounce can sliced black olives, drained

Place the oven rack in the middle position and begin heating the oven to 350 degrees.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef and onion and cook, breaking up the ground beef until the beef loses its pink color; 5 to 7 minutes. Drain.

Stir 1 cup cheddar cheese, sour cream, parsley, taco seasoning, oregano and black pepper into the ground beef until the cheese melts. Mix in the enchilada sauce, chili powder and garlic; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Lay a tortilla onto a plate and spoon about ¼ cup meat mixture down the tortilla's center. Top meat with 1 tablespoon of black beans and a few black olives. Roll up the tortilla and lay it seamside down in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Spoon any remaining meat sauce over the tortillas. Evenly distribute the remaining black beans and black olives over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake until the cheese melts and the sauce bubbles around the casserole's edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the casserole from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

Makes 8 enchiladas

Nutrition values per enchilada: 385 calories (47.8% from fat), 20 g fat (7.4 g saturated fat), 25.8 g carbohydrates (17.7 net carbs), 4.2 g sugars, 8 g fiber, 25.6 g protein, 65 mg cholesterol, 587 mg sodium

Don Mauer