I was complaining to a friend this week about how all the vegetarian recipes I’ve made recently taste people who are diets trying to pretend they’ve made something good. Christy was surprised to hear this because she’s started cooking vegan this year and has had some really delicious recipes.
Me: please share your secrets with me!
Christy: Vegan thanksgiving wraps from Minimalist Baker.
It was so good. It tasted like flavors! It’s the best thing I’ve cooked in a really long time. It also looks really fancy, but isn’t complicated. I feel like I know more about how flavors work now.
My initial thoughts when I scanned the recipe 1) I was worried that it would be sweet because I saw sweet potatoes, cranberries, and cinnamon (which I associate with cinnamon-sugar, I guess) and 2) that it would be time consuming (though you don’t have to make your own flatbread).
But then, Christy has never advised me poorly before and: we’re always scrambling to optimize our time, but for what? So we can spend more time staring at our computers? Pish-posh. Let’s do it!
If you want to start with the flatbread, I got the dough mixture started and left it to rise while I went to the grocery store to get the other ingredients. But you can also just buy flatbread.
Garlic Herb Flatbread
via Minimalist Baker, who has much better pictures
- 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp or 6 g)
- 1 Tbsp (3 g) minced herbs (rosemary and thyme)
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp organic cane sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (170 g) All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cup (90 g) Spelt Flour (or sub more all purpose, which is what I did)
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil, plus more for coating bowl
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) warm water*
- To a large mixing bowl, add yeast, garlic, herbs, sea salt, organic cane sugar, all purpose flour, and spelt flour, and whisk.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and add olive oil and 1/2 cup (120 ml) of warm water to start. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Add more water as needed until a dough forms.
- Transfer to a clean, well-floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic – about 2 minutes – adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Wipe out mixing bowl and add a bit of oil – 1 tsp. Roll dough around to coat and position seam-side down in the bowl. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
- Once doubled in size (see photo), cut dough into 6 even pieces, arrange on a clean surface, and lay a damp towel on top. Let rest.
- In the meantime, heat a large skillet (electric or cast iron) to medium-high heat (~ 375 degrees F).
- One at a time on a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a large circle that’s fairly thin (not paper thin, but less than 1/8th inch thick – see photo).
- Lightly grease preheated skillet and lay down flatbread. Don’t touch, cook for 2 1/2 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 1/2 minutes on the other side. Repeat, adding more oil to coat surface, until all flatbread is cooked.
- Enjoy immediately, or let cool completely and store in a well-sealed bag or container up to 3 days (though best when fresh).
Next: The wrap ingredients themselves. Which is pretty simple because you’re just mixing stuff and throwing it in the oven.
Savory sweet potato & chickpea wraps
SWEET POTATOES
- 2 large sweet potatoes (~300 g)
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) grape seed oil (I used olive oil because I’m not fancy)
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- optional: pinch cayenne pepper (I used paprika because I don’t have cayenne pepper)
CHICKPEAS
- 1 15-ounce (425 g) can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and thoroughly dried in a towel
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) grape seed oil (¯\_(?)_/¯)
- 1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- scant 1/2 tsp sea salt
- optional: Healthy pinch each ground coriander + cardamom
FOR SERVING optional
- 4 Garlic Herb Flatbreads* (or store-bought flatbreads or pita)
- Garlic Dill Hummus Sauce (I just used regular hummus)
- Toasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (I had 1.8 year old pumpkin seeds from when I moved to SF)
- Dried cranberries, chopped
- Fresh arugula or parsley
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Thoroughly wash and dry sweet potatoes, then slice (skin on) into bite-sized rounds/pieces.
- Add to a mixing bowl with grape seed oil, thyme, cinnamon, sea salt and cayenne (optional). Toss to coat, then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- To the same mixing bowl, add rinsed, dried chickpeas, and grape seed oil, thyme, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, sea salt, and coriander + cardamom (optional). (Emphasis mine, I didn’t really realize the subtle difference so both had the same seasoning, woo!)
- Toss to coat, then arrange on baking sheet with sweet potatoes where space permits. (Depending on size of baking sheet, you may need to use a second to accommodate all potatoes and chickpeas).
- Bake for a total of 25 minutes, flipping/stirring once at the 15-minute mark to ensure even cooking. You’ll know they’re done when the potatoes are fork tender, and the chickpeas are golden brown, dehydrated, and slightly crispy. Remove from oven and set aside.
- In the meantime, prepare toppings and dressing (if using).
- Once potatoes and chickpeas are finished baking, wrap flatbreads in a damp towel and warm in the still warm oven for 1-2 minutes (or in the microwave for 30 seconds) to soften and make more pliable.
- To assemble, top each wrap with a portion of sweet potatoes and chickpeas. Add desired toppings, such as dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, arugula, and Garlic-Dill Hummus Sauce (recipe link above).
- Best when fresh, though leftovers keep separately in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Voila!
I remember popping a chickpea in my mouth while I was waiting for some of my last flat breads to cook—I was totally amazed how flavorful it was!
So I’m not great at circles, give me a break: I was using a bottle as a rolling pin. But I was still really amazed that my flatbread actually wrapped without breaking! Also I love bread. I hope you try making this thing that looks super fancy but isn’t that hard to make.