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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 22, 2009 20:12:43 GMT
Regardless of the recent trend for "wraps" (  ), people have been using some form of bread as a handy edible container for messier foods forever. This is still a good way to make quick, nourishing, interesting meals, especially for one or two people. I will put pretty much anything in a tortilla -- leftover meat or fish scrambled with eggs and herbs is a favorite breakfast. Last night I heated half a can of refried black beans with some hot sauce and lime juice, then took it off the heat and added crumbled pot cheese and chopped onions. I heated a griddle, then heated tortillas directly over a flame, tossing each onto the griddle when hot. Working quickly, I spread a couple of tablespoons of the bean mixture on one end of each tortilla and rolled it up. As soon as they were all done I turned the heat off under the griddle and put a lid on the whole thing. That way the ones not on my plate stayed hot. You can see how this could be infinitely varied with different fillings and using corn or wheat tortillas, lavash, chapati, etc. Some other fillings might be sauteed vegetables and cheese, or breakfast sausage fried with potato cubes, or leftover steak or roast beef with chopped onions, chile, and lime for ersatz fajitas, or hummus and cubed zucchini, or ................... Well? |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2009 20:20:40 GMT
The main "wrap" in France is the crêpe -- sweet or savory. You can put just about anything in a crêpe and roll it or fold it up.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 22, 2009 20:28:13 GMT
True. What other kind of "pancakes" besides the Chinese ones for duck are used that way? Also, are crêpes used as a "dry" wrapper, i.e., to make finger food?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2009 20:44:03 GMT
They are "almost" finger food but not quite, because when you buy them on the street, they are wrapped up in paper. In a restaurant, they are eaten with a knife and fork.
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Post by imec on Sept 22, 2009 21:45:50 GMT
When I saw the title of this thread, "roll it" jumped out and I at first thought it was a follow-up to kerouac's acid trip post. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2009 21:52:20 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Sept 22, 2009 22:01:10 GMT
Have any of you made crêpes from chickpea flour? They are surprisingly good, high in protein, and don't require eggs or milk, so they can be a boon for people with various allergies - provided they aren't allergic to chickpeas, of course. Variations are typically made in South Asia (dosa) and in the area between Nice and Genova.
Of course i like buckwheat (sarrazin) crêpes as well. Yum.
Yeah, bixa, it was odd when "wraps" were a food fad. Meh.
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Post by hwinpp on Sept 23, 2009 9:17:32 GMT
I found tacos to be not so good for 'wettish' food. The dissolve and it's becomes difficult to eat with your hands. Or the tacos were too thin.
Forgot my actual reason for posting...
Yes, we use vegetables as wraps quite a lot.
In Germany they have cabbage wraps, eaten with a fork and knife. They're too hot to be eaten by hand.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2009 13:52:36 GMT
I visited a wonderful Greek restaurant in NY and watched as these guys whipped out these beautiful spanokopita. The way they maneuvered the filo dough and with seemingly little effort turned out dozens of these beauties was marvelous. Within what seemed like 30 seconds (or a "New York minute")they rolled and wrapped a whole tray and zapped into the oven.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 23, 2009 16:14:52 GMT
Well, with the OP I was thinking more of quick pick-up food -- things that would be quickly assembled in the kitchen or at the table and picked up in the hand and eaten. Obviously this covers street food such as hot dogs and tacos, but my premise is that it's a good way to eat at home and cover all the basic food groups as well. HW, taquerias here use little bitty tacos and they're always doubled. I have posted this picture before, but it gives a good idea of the taco size. With the tortillas that small and doubled, you have a fighting chance of getting it eaten in a few bites before it falls apart, no matter how much you overdo the salsa.  |
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Post by imec on Sept 23, 2009 17:28:07 GMT
We love wraps with leftover chicken tikka, raita and salad.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 23, 2009 17:32:29 GMT
What do you use for the wrapper, Imec? That would be such a yummy combination!
Oh yeah ~~ LaGatta, do you have a recipe for the chickpea crêpes, please?
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Post by imec on Sept 23, 2009 17:45:39 GMT
What do you use for the wrapper, Imec? That would be such a yummy combination! Whatever is on hand - pita, flour tortilla, purchased naan.. but next time, with any luck it will be home made naan (lola's recipe) |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2009 17:51:14 GMT
My brother is very good at folding ingredients into a thin omelette. I just don't bother.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 23, 2009 18:20:38 GMT
My brother is very good at folding ingredients into a thin omelette. I just don't bother.  Missing the point here! |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 23, 2009 18:28:06 GMT
I don't know if pita really belongs in the "wrap" family, but since it can be either a pocket, or divided to make two round flexible flatbreads, I guess so. One way to use up tiny harvests from your yard or produce you've bought is to put a heavy skillet on high heat, pour in some olive oil, then toss in chopped vegetables in any mix you wish. Salt and toss them around, then immediately turn off the heat and cover the pan, after first adding minced garlic, if desired. Let set a few minutes and it will be perfectly steamed and seasoned, ready to be be dropped into a pita pocket with some shredded cheese to "weld" it, or folded or rolled into tortillas or other types of flat bread. You can also beat an egg or two and scramble it into the vegetable just before serving. Add fresh herbs, chopped onions, salsa, just before eating.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2009 18:37:55 GMT
My brother is very good at folding ingredients into a thin omelette. I just don't bother. Missing the point here! If you have to carry something around and eat it standing up, fine, wrap it, fold it. If it is being eaten on a plate, why bother? |
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 23, 2009 19:23:22 GMT
Because it tastes good! If I -- a person who hates and fears stickiness -- am promoting this, shouldn't you be paying close attention and even taking notes?
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Post by existentialcrisis on Nov 26, 2009 12:53:22 GMT
Bixa - just wanted to shed some light on the pita wrapping situation. You rip the pita open half way, stuff it, and roll it. I learned this technique when I worked for a Lebonese couple, making falafel wraps. Before that, I thought pita pockets were the only way... now I would never stuff a pita pocket!!  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 26, 2009 17:49:23 GMT
I just clinked my teeth on the monitor! Perfect, Existentia ~~ thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2009 21:57:38 GMT
Yet people are still stuffing pita, and the famous As du Falafel in Paris almost makes it appealing.  |
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 27, 2009 9:23:59 GMT
Spring rolls. Fresh or fried. Soft wrap or elastic wrap. Chinese fresh springrolls, very tender skin, popia:   Vietnamese fresh springrolls, elastic, tough skin, mem:   Fried spring rolls, not my favourite but easiest to eat: In translucent rice paper wrapping, good  In normal rice paper wrapping, not so good  And of course the normal lettuce wraps I've posted here before. Make what you think is a nice 'filling', wrap in lettuce or any other big- green- leaf vegetable  |
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Post by imec on Nov 27, 2009 13:42:30 GMT
OMG! I cannot stop looking at all of these and trying to decide which I'd devour first!!!! UNbelievably gorgeous! That second picture - god almighty!! What's all the stuff over top of them? I recognize the scallions of course - and Hoisin? Maybe ground peanuts? I can't decide if the yellow stuff looks more like hard cooked egg yolk or powdered mustard (probably none of the above :  . I'm not sure I can thank you for this cuz you've buggered up my day now - anything I eat today will be a poor consolation for not having any and all of these rolls.... |
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 28, 2009 4:31:51 GMT
The yellow stuff is egg yolk, Imec, and crushed peanuts can be added. The ones at the top don't need any dip because they soak up the sauce very well. They need to be eaten quickly or else the skin dissolves.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 28, 2009 16:52:40 GMT
Beautiful, insanely appetizing pictures, HW!
To clarify what you say above -- are the disks cooked first, then the filling is put on, and they're eaten right away without further cooking?
Yesterday's lunch: I had to go out and was starving by the time I headed home. I stopped at the superette & got pork crackling, tortillas, & a canned of refried black beans. A quick heat-up of the tortillas on the griddle simultaneously heated smears of beans direct from the can. I topped each one with chopped onion, pieces of crackling, & some hot sauce, gave it a quick roll, and feasted.
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Post by lola on Nov 28, 2009 17:42:48 GMT
It's lunchtime now, and I'd like one of each of those, please.
WIll probably make turkey, mushroom, scallion and some kind of wine sauce crepes for supper tonight.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2009 19:41:04 GMT
Hah! I can buy everything that HW shows just a block away from my apartment, except for the nasty last ones in the 'normal rice paper' -- nobody could possibly want those (and yet I remember that that was the only style available in the rare Chinese restaurants of my Mississippi childhood -- and they were also the only kind sold in the frozen food cases in the U.S. I hope that the situation has changed.).
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 29, 2009 4:17:16 GMT
I hope you're happy, HW.
There was this persistent little buzz in the back of my head: needAsianrollsneedAsianrollsneedAsianrolls
Finally I started scavenging in the kitchen and came up with small commercial tortillas, which I heated, smeared on a little oyster sauce, then sprinkled on chopped onion and jalapeño. Not bad!
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 30, 2009 4:44:49 GMT
Exactly. They can survive a 10 minute drive back home, that's about it. Or eat there and then.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Dec 1, 2009 10:28:21 GMT
Oooh... the Vietnamese fresh spring rolls are basically what I made for my work lunches last week! The rice paper is suprizingly easy to work with and it's all just so yummy! Very interested in the Chinese version though...
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), people have been using some form of bread as a handy edible container for messier foods forever.
Missing the point here!
. I'm not sure I can thank you for this cuz you've buggered up my day now - anything I eat today will be a poor consolation for not having any and all of these rolls....