Mediterranean Chopped Salad Wraps and Baked Fries

Good afternoon, readers! We've officially made it over the hump and are cruising into the weekend, slowly. Last night I decided to turn all those delicious vegetables I bought on Monday night into a tasty dinner. I invited over my friend Jenny and she brought over my fav wine (without me even asking, is she great, or what?!) and we sat down to a delicious meal and ended up watching 2 hours' worth of America's Got Talent auditions. Before I continue I'd like to point out that not everyone in America has a talent that's TV worthy...I'm talking to you 80s'-Hairband-Keyboard-Guy. You sucked. Get a real job.


I love Mediterranean food because it lends itself so well to vegetarianism! It's fresh, it's bright, it's light and you can replace almost anything with chickpeas. I mean seriously. Craving gyros? Roasted Chickpea Gyros boom! Spanikopita? Guess what?! That's already vegetarian! Hummus, Tzatziki, tabbouleh? Yep, all perfectly vegetarian, not to mention incredibly delicious. So I decided to make Mediterranean Chopped Salad Wraps with Baked Fries.


Mediterranean Chopped Salad Wraps

For the dressing:
1/4 C olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste


For the salad:
1 small cucumber, diced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 Tbsp pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
3 Tbsp banana pepper rings, sliced
1 C feta cheese crumbles
1 1/2 C spinach leaves
1/2 small red onion, diced (I didn't buy any onion so I omitted it, but red onion is always a stable flavor in Mediterranean cooking)
Whole wheat wraps, for serving


In a large bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Gradually add the salad ingredients and coat with dressing as you go. This is so much easier than trying to coat everything at once! Believe me! Everything becomes more pliable and better coated doing it little by little.


I'd also recommend adding in the chickpeas and spinach in stages.


Now this could totally just be eaten as a salad and it would be fantastic! But why leave out the carbs? I mean after all...CARBS ARE LIFE. Arrange 2 heaping tablespoons of the salad mixture in the middle of a whole wheat tortilla and roll into a wrap-like shape.


This recipe yielded 6 wraps. Jenny and I ate 2 each last night and have enough leftovers for 2 days' worth of lunches.


I decided that these wraps needed a starchy side (uh...hello, carbs) and I had 2 less-than-ideal looking potatoes on hand so decided to make some tasty baked fries.


Baked Fries


2 Russet potatoes, cut into matchsticks
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tsp paprika
1/2 Tsp oregano
1/2 Tsp thyme
1/2 Tsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.


Toss potatoes in oil and spices and arrange on the baking sheet in a single layer.


Bake for 20 minutes and then flip over. Bake another 20 minutes.


The fries should be golden brown and tender.


Easy peasy, right?


The 2 potatoes gave enough fries for each of us to have a handful with our wraps and leftovers for 1 lunch.


The flavors were light, fresh and all-around delicious and were even more perfect when combined with the "red berries, spice and licorice" flavors of the Yellow Tail Shiraz.


Hey readers, if you really love me you should send me wine (hint, hint). Or comments (hint, hint). I'll take either but wine would be preferred. Obviously.


Stay tuned for more delicious recipes!