SUPPER: Medi-Veggie Snack Wrap

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SUPPER: Medi-Veggie Snack Wrap

POSTED: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 3:00 PM
Filed Under: Recipes | SUPPER | Vegan | Vegetarian
Photo l Felicia D'Ambrosio
Medi-Veggie Snack Wrap

In 2006 McDonald's introduced the American eating public to the $1 Snack Wrap. Fried or grilled chicken, or even a shuddersome wedge of what passes for a burger, are dressed with shredded lettuce and cheese and wrapped in a flour tortilla. We don't know why the Snack Wrap exists, what deep ravenous need it fulfills, but we knew we could make a better, healthier and worlds more satisfying 3 p.m. bite.

Bitar's Market (947 Federal St.) in South Philly is a Lebanese sandwich shop/market with two equally appetizing faces. The tiny sandwich shop-side vends combinations like the grilled chicken Angelo Cataldi sandwich with roasted red pepper spread, lettuce and string cheese ($5.50) as well as more traditional lamb gyros, chicken kebabs and falafel-stuffed pitas. On the market side lives any Middle Eastern ingredient your cookbook can send you out for -- beautiful handmade pita in a multitude of sizes, the essential herb blend za'atar and creamy, salty Bulgarian, French or Greek feta by the pound.

Our Bitar's-sourced snack wrap is a vegetarian assortment of hummus (or baba ganouj, or both) spread on pita toasted on one side in olive oil, a few slices of that sharp feta and crisp cucumbers topped with a heaping handful of mixed winter greens. Crushed into a portable cylinder, the contrasting textures and bright flavors snap against the warm delicate pita, crispy on the inside and soft outside.

Learn how to assemble our Medi-Veggie Snack Wrap after the jump.

Medi-Veggie Snack Wrap

Yields one wrap

Go Get This:

One 8-inch Bitar's hand-stretched pita

Few tablespoons of hummus or baba ganouj, or both

Few slices of Bulgarian feta to taste

Half a cucumber, peeled and sliced

Big handful of raw greens (spring mix, arugula, weeds, whatever you like)

Extra-virgin olive oil

Now Do This:

Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil into a 10-inch or larger skillet. Heat until shimmering over medium heat. Tilt pan so olive oil covers the surface in a thin layer.

Place the pita in the warm oil and allow to toast, about 1-2 minutes. Do not flip; you want the outside of the wrap to stay nice and clean and soft.

Remove warmed pita and place toasted side up on a plate. Spread with hummus or baba ganouj or both, just 3/4 of the way across the round. See photo.

Layer sliced feta over spread(s). Add sliced cukes. Place big handful of greens on top.

Roll wrap, starting with side that has lots of ingredients on it.

Eat. Feel smugly healthy.

Posted by Felicia D'Ambrosio @ 3:00 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews herethose are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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