Carrot Wraps

I sometimes like to challenge myself to see how long I can go between food shopping trips while still enjoying  a good variety of recipes. This requires that I take some stock of I what have on hand, and to be creative with substitutions. I had three raw carrots in my refrigerator, which I had planned to just turn into carrot sticks for snacking, when I noticed this recipe in the New York Times which not only called for carrots, but also for dried apricots, which I also had. I had to reduce the recipe quite a bit to account for my meager carrot count, but I was eating alone that night anyway (James was enjoying a "rubber chicken" meal at the University). I started with one small garlic clove and a handful of walnuts which I chopped by hand, then placed in the blender for further choppage. Meanwhile, I soaked 5 dried apricots in boiling water. When the apricots were softened (about 5 minutes) I chopped and added them to the blender. At this point the recipe calls to add olive oil and vinegar. Having recently become fans of flavor-infused vinegars and oils, I  checked my stocks for some interesting flavors to add, and settled on Blood Orange Olive Oil, and Honey-flavored vinegar. Also added at this time was a pinch of chili pepper and a splash of the water the apricots soaked in. After a bit more blending, this formed into an easy-to-spread paste.

Oh yes, the carrots - these were peeled and cut into sticks, then blanched for about 5 minutes. The sticks were put tossed into a bowl with lemon juice, a bit more olive oil, and some dried mint.

The recipe calls for lavash bread, but I used a soft tortilla shell. The apricot paste was spread onto the shell, carrots were added, then the shell was folded in half and grilled on the indispensable cast iron griddle.

I must say that I made wise choices with my vinegar and oil flavor choices. All the flavors blended well, and made for a satisfying meal. James, who is no fan of carrots, tried one the next day for lunch and declared it "surprisingly good" (although we both agree that we would have preferred the carrots softened just a bit more). I think the paste could be used as a good dip for a veggie relish tray, pita chips or crackers.

A bigger carrot fan than James