Benjamin Kraft/The Daily Northwestern

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:

1. Combine the avocado, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, cilantro and sea salt in a mini prep or food processor and puree until smooth.
2. 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.
3. 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:

1. Cook 1 cup quinoa as directed on the package.
2. Add black beans and 3/4 cup of avocado-tahini dip to the quinoa. Add more dip to desired taste and consistency.
3. Sprinkle tortillas with Monterey Jack and feta and heat in a microwave or pan to soften the tortilla and melt the cheese.
4. 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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