By now you may know that I love a good sandwich. Well, that group now also includes wraps. I used to not care so much about them but then I went to Greece and discovered the world of gyros and falafel wraps. After tasting numerous wraps, I quickly learned that the sauces are just as important as the actual protein. And so I decided to flavor charred cauliflower with spices and a vinaigrette, pair it with herby hummus and fried sesame feta, and drizzle everything with harissa honey. I gotta tell you, these charred cauliflower wraps with green hummus are truly sensational.
Charred Cauliflower Wraps with Green Hummus
Ingredients
Green hummus
- 15 ounces canned chickpeas plus ¼ cup reserved canned liquid
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 cup arugula
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Charred cauliflower
- 1 large head cauliflower cut into small florets
- 1 medium red onion peeled and sliced into ¼ inch thick wedges
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspaoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup sliced peppadew peppers
- ½ cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
Remaining ingredients
- 4 ounces feta cut into small chunks
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon harissa seasoning
- 4 pita bread
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Make green hummus. Combine chickpeas with ¼ cup reserved canned chickpea liquid, tahini, arugula, parsley, dill, lemon juice, and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend mixture until smooth. With the blender running, slowly add extra virgin olive oil and blend until smooth. Season hummus with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Toss cauliflower florets and sliced red onion with 3 tablespoons olive oil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spread in an even layer on baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes or until charred and softened.
- Remove vegetables from oven and toss with peppadew peppers, olives, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and red chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
- Prepare fried feta. Dip feta chunks in egg, turning to coat on all sides. Remove feta with a fork and coat with flour. Dip in eggs again then coat in sesame seeds.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook feta until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
- Whisk together honey with harissa seasoning until well combined. Drizzle honey on feta, reserving the rest for serving.
- Toast pita bread and spread green hummus on one side. Top hummus with cauliflower filling and fried feta. Drizzle extra honey on top and garnish with fresh dill. Serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
When I decided to make a vegetarian wrap, I immediately knew that I didn't want to make it a falafel wrap. As much as I love falafels, it's been done numerous times. It was time to mix things up. However, I did decide to incorporate hummus, just not your regular version. This green hummus has plenty of herbs to add a bright, fresh flavor.
In addition to your normal hummus ingredients including tahini, chickpeas, garlic, and lemon, we're going to add arugula, dill, and parsley. You can easily swap the herbs and use basil, cilantro, or spinach instead, but the flavor will be slightly different.
Use a blender or food processor and combine all of the ingredients except the extra virgin olive oil. While the blender is running, slowly add the oil. Then let the blender keep running for a minute or two until the green hummus gets extra creamy. If the hummus is too thick, add an extra tablespoon or two of the canned chickpea liquid.
Season the hummus with salt and pepper and set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients. You can also make the hummus the day before.
For the main star of these wraps, we're going to season and roast cauliflower. Cut a head of cauliflower into small florets; you don't want them too big since they're going into a wrap.
Toss the cauliflower and sliced red onion with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dried oregano. Then, roast the vegetables until softened and lightly charred.
The cauliflower might seem boring but don't worry, we're not done yet. We're going to toss the roasted vegetables with sliced peppadew peppers, kalamata olives, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and red pepper flakes.
If you're not a fan of kalamata olives, you can use castelvetrano olives or any other type of olive instead.
Peppadew peppers, also known as piquante peppers, have a spicy, tangy taste with a hint of sweetness. I highly suggest using these specific peppers for these charred cauliflower wraps with green hummus. However, if you have trouble finding them, you can use roasted red bell peppers instead.
Next, we're going to prepare the feta. Rather than simply adding crumbled feta to the wrap, I decided to batter and fry them.
Cut the feta into small chunks and coat them in egg, flour, egg again, then sesame seeds. Pan fry the cheese until golden brown, then drizzle harissa honey on top. Yes, the batter is thick, but it'll transform the feta into little nuggets of joy. They also become heartier, almost like meat (the operative word being "almost")!
Assemble the charred cauliflower wraps with green hummus and sesame feta. Drizzle extra harissa honey on top and sprinkle fresh dill to finish.
You know when you think a dish is going to be good and then it turns out to be fantastic? Yup, that's exactly what happened here. There's just so much flavor in every bite and it all just works. I will definitely be enjoying these wraps frequently.
For more wrap inspiration check out this chicken tikka masala pita wrap recipe!
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