Chickpea Veggie Wraps (gf)

Hellloo! This is my first blog post.. ever. I’m kind of nervous, so bear with me! I wanted to do something familiar, so I will start with what I love most: cooking for my wife, Daycia. I’m basically her personal chef and it’s very fulfilling. Cooking is one way that I show love to my partner, so I try to cook something for her every day.

Daycia has been craving lighter, fresher options as we approach the hotter months of the year. We joke around with what “fresh” means since it can be a vague term, but I think we’ve found something that works for us! Cooling, raw, bright foods, not too heavy. I had been practicing chickpea flour wraps recently for a client, so I wanted to use those up. I decided to make Chickpea Veggie Wraps. Looking around the kitchen to make use of various leftovers in our pantry and fridge, I grabbed some rehydrated shiitake that I had used for dashi earlier in the week, some kale, herbs, a half-frozen cucumber, and some tofu cream.

But wait..what is tofu cream??

Great question! Basically, I take some tofu and blend it with some soy milk, and drizzle in a little olive oil for richness. It’s a great creamy base for sauces and dips! You can also simply use non-dairy yogurt.

For the mushrooms, I cooked them in some olive oil with onion, garlic, red chile, dried dill, dried parsley, and sumac (loooove this spice). I use a similar seasoning blend for another Mediterannean-inspired dish that I make weekly for us, but I’ll save that for another post! The mushrooms turned out beautifully, crispy and chewy, smokey and vibrant from the sumac. Hearty, yet.. “fresh”.

Crispy!

I made a quick tzatziki-style sauce with the cucumber, garlic, lemon, and tofu cream. After that I massaged some kale with avocado and white balsamic vinegar. If you’ve never massaged kale, give it a try! It’s a great way to soften the kale and get rid of some of the bitter flavors.

Finally, assembly time! I spread some hummus on the base of the wraps, and loaded up everything I had prepared. Dacyia and I had the wraps for lunch while we watched a new K-drama called “Queen of Tears”. It is so good!

Thanks for listening to me ramble, see you next time!

Mahalo,

Chef Bryan Kennedy

Chickpea Veggie Wraps (gf)

Ingredients:

Chickpea tortillas (recipe here)

Hummus (homemade or store-bought)

Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms

1 cup rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2T olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup sliced onion

1/4t red chile flakes

2t dried dill

2t dried sumac

2t dried parsley

1T soy sauce

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Kale Salad

6 cups kale

1 small avocado

white balsamic or rice vinegar, to taste

salt & pepper, to taste

Tzatziki

1/2 cup tofu cream (or use storebought non-dairy yogurt)

1/2 cup grated cucumber, pressed of any excess liquid

2 cloves garlic , minced

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup fresh herbs, such as parsley or dill

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Prepare chickpea tortillas per recipe. You can also use store-bought tortillas!

Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add shiitake mushrooms and herbs. Cook until browned. Add soy sauce, garlic, onion, and chile. Cook until onion is softened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the kale and avocado. Massage the avocado into the kale until you can no longer see any pieces of avocado. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and acid of your choice. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all tzatziki ingredients. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Set aside.

Assembly:

Place a chickpea tortilla on a plate. Spread hummus evenly on a tortilla. Add some kale salad, followed by the sumac-spiced mushrooms. Finish with tzatziki and roll up tightly.

Enjoy!