For years I had salad for lunch. But after a while I got bored with having them every single day at work and also the fact that I am now traveling for longer means that bringing a salad isn’t always the best idea. Then I had an idea to make a salad wrap. Instead of a normal wrap you use a leaf of lettuce to wrap up a filling of your choice. My first try was this chicken pesto combo and it was absolutely divine.
Since making these for the first time, I have also made a filling with salmon and cream cheese, and I have many more ideas to try. These are a great on the go food as you can use your hands to eat it, and two ‘wraps’ fill you up enough for it to be a real lunch. I cut them open for the picture so you can see inside, but I don’t cut them up when I take them along.
Preparation time: varies depending on what filling you decide to make. Salmon/ cream cheese / sprouts definitely look less time than this one. But it’s something you can easily make in advance and keep in an air tight container in your fridge. That way, all you have to do is assemble the wraps, put them in a container, and you’re out the door. I’m guessing it’s as quick or maybe even quicker than making a sandwich.
Ingredients:
- 2 pieces of chicken breast
- 1 can of sliced olives
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 jar of high quality pesto
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce
- some grated Parmesan cheese
- oil of your choice
Tools:
- a pan
- a cutting board
- a sharp knife
Step 1:
Cut up your chicken into small dice shaped pieces and fry them in a frying pan. I used olive oil this time, but you can also use some coconut oil or butter if you’d prefer.
Step 2:
Add the olives and the pesto and make sure everything is heated up nicely.
Step 3:
You should end up with a mixture that looks like the top left picture in this collage. Take your bell peppers and cut them into small pieces too.
Step 4:
Add them to the mixture, but don’t bake them. You want them to stay fresh and crunchy.
Step 5:
Carefully take off a leaf of lettuce. My preferred method is to cut the stem and then carefully peel it off. You want to try and keep your lettuce leaf in tact as much as you can.
Step 6:
Wash the leaf and place some of your prepared filling in the little bowl part of the leaf. Sprinkle with Parmesan and you’re ready to roll.
Step 7:
Rolling up the leaf is easy. I start by tucking in the middle part first, the fold in the top flap (of the flappy part of the lettuce) and then fold in the sides. The result? A salad wrap.
And when you cut it open, this is what you’ll find: a yummy chicken pesto goodness that makes for a quick and easy lunch. I’m thinking up different fillings to try and so far I’ve come up with a feta cheese and roasted chickpea combination, as well as a salad caprese wrap with fresh basil, mozzarella and tomato.
What would you use to fill up these salad wraps?