A refreshing, low-fat salad comes nestled inside a tortilla
A new cookbook, “All Wrapped Up”(Broadway Books, $12) by Ellen Brown, has a great collection of fast, easy-to-assemble wraps, one of today’s hottest food trends.
Most of the ingredients for the wraps in this recipe can be purchased in any supermarket; some may even be found at neighborhood convenience stores.
In fact, the majority of the recipes can be prepared on the spur of the moment, providing you have a good selection of staples in your pantry cupboard.
Some of the suggested wraps are flour tortillas, pita bread, Armenian lavash, lettuce leaves, rice paper pancakes and refrigerated doughs.
The pico de gallo wrap recipe from the book was one of my favorites and, with just a slight reduction of the amount of oil used in the dressing, can certainly fit into the daily guidelines for healthful eating.
PICO DE GALLO WRAP
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno or serrano chili
1 teaspoon each: chili powder, sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 jicama, about 3/4 pound
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3 seedless oranges, peeled
1 large cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, cut into 1/3-inch slices
1 red bell pepper, seeded, thinly sliced
6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1. Combine lime juice, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, chili powder, sugar, salt and pepper in jar with tight-fitting lid. Shake well. Add oil; shake again. Set dressing aside.
2. Remove outer brown peel and inner fibrous peel from jicama using sharp paring knife. Cut jicama into 1/4-inch slices and again into 1/4-inch strips. Place strips in large bowl.
3. Holding orange over bowl to catch juice, use sharp serrated knife to slice off white membrane surrounding orange; cut around white membranes to release orange sections. Place in bowl with jicama. Add cucumber and bell pepper slices. Toss salad with dressing.
4. Place equal portion of salad on bottom half of each tortilla, leaving 1 1/2-inch margin on one side. Tuck sides over filling and roll tortillas firmly but gently, beginning with filled side.
Note: If using pita bread, cut jicama slices in half to shorten. Place salad into pocket. The salad can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated, tightly covered.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………. 235 Fat ………. 10 g% calories from fat .. 38
Cholesterol …… 0 mg Sodium ….. 175 mg Carbohydrates …… 38 g
Protein ……….. 5 g
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