Chickpea, avocado and tater tot wrap
chip sandwiches rule!
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary.
My book Tenderheart is available from Books are Magic, Kitchen, Arts and Letters, Book Larder, Bold Fork Books and also here or here.
I love fries. That does not make me unusual.
The kids were home for winter break recently and I found myself looking for easy, fun lunch ideas. I had a bag of tater tots (which are called potato gems in Australia) in the freezer, some baby spinach leaves in the fridge, canned chickpeas in my pantry and ripe avocados to work with. A good meal was bound to come from this.
For this recipe, I was inspired by a Californian burrito. I had never heard of this San Diegan creation until recently. While ordering dinner from our local favourite Nene’s Taqueria, my son requested a Californian burrito. My interest was piqued. Turns out, a Californian burrito is stuffed with fries, amongst the more usual fillings of carne asada, guacamole, pico de gallo, and cheese.
As a teenager, I loved chip sandwiches - white bread, with margarine, stuffed with salty chips. The type of chip was essential - my number one choice was a potato chip like Smith’s Cheese and Onion chips (this is my favourite chip of all time) and my second choice would be something very faux-cheesy like Cheese flavoured Twisties. If I’m eating out and order a veggie burger and fries, I will always stuff chips into my burger. I think gyros filled with chips is the smartest invention ever. And last year, I ate a taco stuffed with fries in Montreal and I had zero regrets. Let me know if you love chip sandwiches too, and your preferred type of ‘chip’.
Knowledge of the existence of a Californian burrito was always going to lead to this week’s recipe.
COOK / EAT / SHARE
My latest over at NYT Cooking is a pantry friendly lemony pearl barley soup (gift link), accented with spinach, dill and finished with a blob of cooling yoghurt which lightens it up. It’s already been a popular recipe this week so give it a go. And hot off the press, here is a recipe I’ve been super excited about - breaded halloumi with shredded cabbage salad. When I tested these, I served them to my kids in burger buns! So so good! I highly recommend.
Winter vibes: baked puttanesca risotto, fennel parmigiana, roasted carrots with whipped hummus
Summer vibes: Dumpling tomato salad (gift link), tofu larb (gift link), seaweed lettuce salad
Any season vibes: Gnocchi, broccoli and lemon sheet pan dinner, tin can chilli
Cooking from Tenderheart: Have you tried the sheet pan carrot and cannellini bean with yuzu vinaigrette yet? The yuzu dressing is outstanding. I made the kale dumplings with brothy butter beans the other day, but subbed the kale for chard and swapped out the cheddar in the dumplings with feta - I highly recommend. Also the green curry spinach and lentil soup is a nice option, all year round.
Watch: I just finished Lulu Wang’s series Expats on Amazon Prime. I was really blown away by the beauty, the pain, the melancholy and resonant portrayal of a specific time for expats in Hong Kong. It is meandering, contemplative and at times dar. k . Episode 5 is a standout, almost like a stand alone film, reminiscent of the stylistic mastery of Wong Kar Wai films.
THIS WEEK’S RECIPE
Chickpea, avocado and tater tot wrap
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love
If you don’t have tater tots (potato gems), you could also use frozen chips, wedges or even leftover roasted potatoes.
For gluten free, use a wheat free tortilla - my supermarket sells ones make with almond or cassava flour.
Serves 4
450g (1 pound) tater tots (potato gems)
1 avocado, flesh roughly chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1-2 scallions, finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime, or more (to your liking)
2-3 tablespoon vegan or regular mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon chipotle flakes or red chilli/pepper flakes
sea salt and black pepper
3-4 handfuls of spinach leaves (or shredded iceberg lettuce)
4 large flour tortillas
Hot sauce, to serve
Cook the tater tots according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, combine the avocado, chickpeas, garlic, scallions, lime juice, mayonnaise, chili/pepper flakes and season well with 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of sea salt and lots of black pepper.
Place a large frying pan/skillet on medium high heat and when hot, add one tortilla. Heat each side of the tortilla for 1-2 minutes, to both soften it and make it easier to fold (alternatively, wrap the tortilla in damp paper towel and microwave for 15-20 seconds).
Divide the chickpea and avocado mixture into roughly four portions. Working with one tortilla at a time, layer with a mound of the chickpea and avocado mixture in the center of the tortilla, top with a handful of spinach, and pile on some of the tater tots/potato gems. Finish with a drizzle of hot sauce. Bring the bottom of the tortilla up and over the filling, then fold in one side at a time, and then roll the burrito, tucking in the filling as you roll, until it is rolled close.
Optional step or if your tortilla isn’t the freshest: If you’d like a crispier tortilla that is easier to eat, heat a skillet (frying pan) on medium high heat. Add a small drizzle of oil if you wish (it’s also fine without) and place the burrito, seam side down, and cook until it’s lightly golden, 2-3 minutes. Flip over and repeat on the other side. You can also warm it for a few minutes in a toaster oven. This extra step seals the burrito, making it will less likely fall apart.
Cut in half and eat immediately.
BONUS SUBSCRIBER RECIPE
While we are on the subject of tater tots/potato gems, I remembered I had developed a recipe for a POTATO GEM ICE CREAM for TENDERHEART which I ended up cutting from the book. For funsies, here is the recipe, a bonus for paid subscribers. For what it’s worth, it’s really good, kinda like eating McDonald’s fries dipped in sundae.
