I don’t know about you, but midterm season really wore me down. The thought of cooking anything just really did not sound worth it, even if I was making something delicious like smoked Gouda and spinach mac n’ cheese or an apple, walnut and endive salad. But recipes can be simple and still delicious, right? This week, I took over the kitchen in Allison Hall to make a fast, but healthy and hearty, wrap.
This recipe is awesome because it is very fast, particularly healthy, vegetarian and easily adaptable to make vegan or gluten-free. Additionally, it is easily something you can make Sunday evening and eat for the rest of the week.
I would like to warn you, though: Tahini has a fairly strong flavor and will overpower all the other flavors if you add too much. If you try the recipe and don’t like it, I recommend trying it again and only using 1/4 cup of tahini. Also, make sure you have feta and Monterey Jack cheeses or a similarly-flavored substitute. Their flavors are important in the balance of the dish.
Note: The dip that is used to flavor the wrap can also be eaten separately with chips.
Serves 4-5 | Hands-on time: 25 minutes | Total time: 35 minutes | Source: MarinMamaCooks
Avocado-tahini dip:
Ingredients:
- 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and diced
- 1/3 cup well-stirred tahini — Make sure this is a level cup, as too much tahini will overpower the dip.
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, rinsed and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/4 cup filtered water
Directions:
- Combine the avocado, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, cilantro and sea salt in a mini prep or food processor and puree until smooth.
- Make sure to scrape down the sides one or two times so that everything gets mixed in. The mixture will be pretty thick and chunky at this point.
- Add in the 1/4 cup water and puree again until blended and smooth.
Quinoa wrap:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of dry quinoa
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed
- 1 ripe avocado sliced into long wedges
- Spinach leaves
- Monterey Jack cheese to taste
- Feta cheese to taste
- Large (9-inch) multi-grain or spinach tortilla. You could also skip the tortilla and wrap it in lettuce or collard greens, or just mix the quinoa with some spinach leaves.
Directions:
- Cook 1 cup quinoa as directed on the package.
- Add black beans and 3/4 cup of avocado-tahini dip to the quinoa. Add more dip to desired taste and consistency.
- Sprinkle tortillas with Monterey Jack and feta and heat in a microwave or pan to soften the tortilla and melt the cheese.
- Add two healthy dollops of the quinoa mixture, a few leaves of spinach and two slices of avocado, and that about wraps it up.
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