Bundle Up Your Leftovers in a Crunchwrap

For those of you who have been following along, I'm a bit obsessed with the Crunchwrap Supreme™. I've been experimenting with new types of sandwiches and fillings in this format. The best part about it is that it can hold pretty much anything as long as it isn't too wet.

It is an excellent way to repackage your leftovers and take it with you, wherever you go. My friend Damon suggested making a Thankgiving crunchwrap. Here's how I tackled it:

Things you'll need:
1 large burrito sized tortilla 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce 1/2 cup shredded turkey 1 tablespoon mayo	1 stick of celery 1 Scallion 1 small bag of Funyuns salt

First, make a salad of the shredded turkey, mayo and chopped celery bits. Season it with salt and pepper to your liking. Set aside.

Start your wrap with a spoonful of cranberry sauce in the center of the tortilla. Next, add the salad, scallion and crushed Funyuns.

Now you're ready to fold! Fold the bottom flap up to cover the center and continue to fold the other edges to the center to form a pentagon. 

Sear it closed in a dry pan on medium heat. Flip it over and brown the other side. Enjoy!

***

Love this? It's part of my Crunchwrap party guide.

Let me know if you try it! Tag @Randwiches on Twitter or Instagram.

Plunge into this Crunchy Seared Tuna Wrap

Upgrade the tuna sandwich you've been bringing to work. Transforming this familiar lunch into a convenient pocket will make everyone in the cafeteria jealous.

Things you'll need:
2 14" burrito tortillas 1 tuna filet 1/8 cup furikake 1 tablespoon pepper 1 large carrot, julienned 1 shallot, sliced into rings	1/2 cup rice vinegar 1 small cucumber, sliced into thin discs 1 tsp wasabi 1/3 cup sour cream 1 bag tempura seaweed crackers Olive oil

Combine the furikake and pepper on a small plate. If you can't find furikake, a mix a tablespoon each of pulverized seaweed and sesame seed. Add a bit of green tea powder and a sprinkle of salt.

Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Then press it firmly into the spice mix. Repeat on the other side.

Prepare a frying pan on high heat. Pour in a swig of olive oil and sear the fish for 3 minutes on each side. 

Drain the tuna on a paper towel and let it cool. Slice into 1/4" thick pieces.

Bring the rice vinegar and a half cup of water to a boil. Add the carrots and shallot and let it boil for 1 minute. Then turn the heat off.

Mix the sour cream with the wasabi and set aside.

To assemble: Drain the quick pickled vegetables and put half of them and a few slices of cucumber in a small stack in the center of the tortilla. Layer half of the tuna pieces on top of it, this will prevent overcooking the fish when you sear the whole pocket. Then add on the wasabi sour cream and a handful of tempura crackers. If you can't find the tempura seaweed, opt for shrimp chips.

Fold the edges over the center to create a closed pentagon. Sear the pocket, seam-side down in a dry pan on medium heat for two minutes. Flip it over and brown the other side.

Enjoy it now or slice in half and let it cool completely before wrapping for later.

***

Love this? It's part of my Crunchwrap party guide.

Let me know if you try it! Tag @Randwiches on Twitter or Instagram.

Take Away This Lamb Pastrami and Mustard Hash

The cool thing about local butchers is that they each have some special item that no other shop makes. In the case of The Meat Hook in Brooklyn, they sometimes have lamb pastrami. It's sliced thin and excellent for your charcuterie board. It fries up like bacon and is so decadently fatty with the familiar peppery spices of a pastrami sandwich. Folding it up in a crunchwrap-style pocket is one way to enjoy it on the go.

Blue potatoes are just like regular potatoes, except they are deep, dark blue when you cut into them. They boil, roast and fry just the same. Just like beets that bleed, onto your plastic cutting boards may have marks on them for a bit.

A fun thing to note is if you mix in white or red taters into your blue mashed potatoes, the turn a cute pastel purple. I used mine in a crunch wrap! You can read my guide to constructing crunchwraps here. I fried cubed blue potato in oil until they were soft, then I added in chorizo and garlic. Piled with tortilla chips, shredded white cheddar, sour cream, chermoula, and hot sauce in a flour tortilla pocket and seared on the stove top.

Things you'll need:
2 10" flour tortillas 1/4 lb lamb pastrami (sourced from The Meat Hook) OR 2 merguez sausages 4 small potatoes, cubed	1/4 cup grainy mustard 1 clove garlic, skin still on 1/4 cup olive oil Pita chips Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Parboil the cubed potatoes in a pot of salted water for 8 minutes.

3. Drain thoroughly and place on a baking sheet with the mustard, garlic and olive oil. Toss to coat. Salt the whole pan lightly.

4. Roast the potatoes for 15 minutes, toss them around making sure they are coated on all sides with mustard and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, fry up the lamb pastrami with a little oil. They will act a lot like bacon and will shrink. If you are using the sausage, fry them whole for 3 minutes on each side.

6. Slice it up and then cook the smaller slices on both sides to make sure the inside is cooked through. Drain on a paper towel.

6. The potatoes should be fork tender, forming a mustard crust and crispy edges. When they are done, fish out the garlic clove and peel it. Smash it with a fork and toss it with the potatoes.

7. In the middle of each tortilla, layer the lamb, a scoop of potato hash and a handful of pita chips.

8. Fold the edges to the center to make a pentagon and sear it seam-side down in a dry pan on medium heat. Flip it over and brown the other side for just a minute or two.

This is so unlike me, but I quite enjoyed this without an egg, but if you feel like you want more protein and heft, please ADD AN EGG! If you like your vegetables (ugh, who are you?), a little patch of lemon-dressed frisée will match very nicely with the fatty lamb.

*** 

Love this? It is from my Crunchwrap party guide.

Let me know if you make this lovely pocket of lamb.

Tag @Randwiches on Instagram to show it off.

Take Breakfast on the Road with a Crunchwrap Benedict

The problem with eggs benedict is that it's heavy and messy. You have to use a knife and fork. Hollandaise is poured all over it so you can't pick up the English muffin and eat it by hand. 

What if I told you that you could take one with you? Throw out your ideas of what eggs benedict should be and join me in my quest to make a portable breakfast crunchwrap.

Things you'll need:
2 large 14” burrito wraps OR 4 10” flour tortillas 4 slices Canadian bacon	4 tablespoons hollandaise sauce 4 eggs, scrambled 1 tablespoon of butter 2 tablespoon of chives Wavy chips

Firstly, make your hollandaise. I like Julia Childs' recipe with Meyer lemon and a bit more cayenne and a dash of smoky paprika. 

Fry up your Canadian bacon and let them rest on a paper towel. Use the leftover fat and a little additional butter to scramble your eggs. 

Let everything cool slightly, super hot fillings will wilt the tortilla. Meanwhile, chop the chives.

Clean out your frying pan and make sure it is dry. Turn it on to medium heat.

Assemble the crunchwrap by placing 1 to 2 slices of Canadian bacon in the center. Pile a scoop of scrambled eggs, a handful of wavy chips, hollandaise and chives. Fold the edges to the center to make a pentagon.

Sear the wrap, seam-side down in the dry pan. If you have a cast iron press or another heavy pan, use it to weigh it down to get an even toast. After 2 minutes, check for browning and flip it over.

It's ready to go! Wrap it in foil to keep it warm or slice it in half to start chomping on it.

For a less portable version, but deeply satisfying, I've found that a fried egg will also work.

***

Love this? It's part of my Crunchwrap party guide.

Tag @Randwiches on social to show me if you made it!

How to Host a Crunchwrap Party

“I could work at Taco Bell, you guys!” I exclaimed as I presented the first completed Crunchwrap at a party I hosted. As of this writing, I still have not had a Crunchwrap at Taco Bell (despite the many times I frequent the place). However, I’ve been obsessed with the format. If you are unfamiliar, a Crunchwrap Supreme™ is a flat burrito, seared closed. Even though I come from the burrito wonderland that is California, I almost never order them. They are so large. They’re a commitment. With a crunchwrap, most of the tortilla’s surface area is used to enhance the crunch texture with seared folds.

Why do I love it so? It feels good in your hands, it’s compact and doesn’t leak. It reheats really well and damn, don’t you just love a satisfying crunch?

You, too, can host a crunchwrap extravaganza for one or as many people can fit into your kitchen. I present to you tenets of a good pocket of audibly crunchy goodness, listed in order of how you should pile them.

The wrap: Chipotle-sized burrito wraps are quite the meal and can host up to a quarter cup of protein. Smaller tortillas are great for a snack size.

Filling: Your protein mustn’t be too goopy or saucy. Its viscosity should be thick enough that it doesn’t drip from a slotted spoon. So far I’ve experimented with ground beef, turkey, grilled tuna and all manner of egg.

Vegetables: Completely optional but I find that lettuces and tomatoes do balance out the super-umami taste of taco seasoning. Plus, iceberg lettuce does crunch if you eat it fast enough.

Sauces: A little hot sauce is great and thicker lubricants like sour cream or Mexican crema will help you chew and save the roof of your mouth. But don’t overdo it! Wet = NO CRUNCH.

Crunch: The utmost important part. Depending on what protein and flavor profiles you’ve chosen, the sky’s the limit. I’ve used Cheetos, tortilla chips, seaweed crackers, Funyuns— any dregs at the bottom of a snack bag work, too.

Set it all up on a big table or long counter as an assembly line of ingredients with a clean cutting board at the end for folding. I’ve found that a pentagon works well. Fold the bottom flap up, make two creases upward and complete it by folding down two more flaps from the top. Press it, seam-side down in a dry pan on medium heat. If you’ve got a cast iron press, even better! If you don’t, it’ll still close, the press just helps with a uniform sear. Flip it and cook the balance to your liking. You can also do this in a panini press or George Foreman grill.

Here are a few recipes inspired by my friends:

• Beefy Nacho Crunchwrap, make it extra crunchy with the addition of chicharron
• Swap out the beef for fresh chorizo sausage
• Bacon, lettuce, tomato with an extra crunch of chicharron is awesome!
• Crunchwrap Benedict
• Lamb Pastrami and Mustard Hash Pocket
• Seared Tuna Crunchwrap
• Thanksgiving Crunchwrap

When the party is over, pre-make a bunch and wrap them in foil for later. As I said before, they reheat really well. Still in the foil, heat it up in a pan. After 5 minutes, take the foil off and sear on both sides for 2 to 3 minutes. It’s really creepy but we discovered that Cheetos remained crunchy.

In this house, we wear green flannel.

*** 

Love this? Let me know if you decide to host a crunchwrap party of your own. Tag @Randwiches on Twitter or Instagram to show me.

South of the Border Hack: DIY Spicy Crunchwrap Supreme

I confess, I never actually ate one of the crunchwrap supremes at Taco Bell. I took one look at a photo of it and searched for the ingredients online. Ever since my DIY M-egg-ican pizza post, I've been wanting to recreate more Taco Bell items at home. 

What you'll need
1 pound of ground beef 1 packet of taco seasoning (or 1 teaspoon cumin, paprika, pepper, salt to taste) 1 bunch of arugula, washed and chopped 1 tomato, chopped	1 small bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos Sour cream 22oz bag of shredded cheese  4 burrito sized tortillas Cast iron press

Start by sauteeing the ground beef in a dry pan over medium heat, it will have enough fat to fry itself. Break up the clods of meat with a wooden spoon until it is granular and has turned from pink to thoroughly brown. Pour off the beef fat into a small bowl for our beef queso.

Empty the taco seasoning onto the beef and toss off the heat. Set aside.

Make a half batch of the Cook's Science beef queso with the fat you have in a bowl. Alternatively, if you don't have sodium citrate, toss half the pack of shredded cheese in a tablespoon of cornstarch and gradually stir into a simmering mix of the beef fat and 1/2 cup of water. Whisk until smooth.

Working 1 tortilla at a time, scoop 1/4 cup of cooled ground beef into the center. Layer on queso, tomato, arugula, shredded cheese, sour cream and optional Flaming Hot Cheetos. Fold the tortilla over the mixture, it's ok if it's a little uneven. Make sure the flaps stay closed.

On medium heat, press the tortilla seam-side down so you can secure it closed. Use a cast iron press or heavy pan to weigh it down. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the tortilla is brown and crispy. Flip it over and repeat.

From here, you can wrap it in foil and hand it to someone (or yourself to eat). But since I'm a tiny bb and can never finish a burrito (because that is essentially what this is, but flat), I cut it in half and saved a bit for later.

I was skeptical about the Cheetos staying crispy but they were! Next time, I don't layer them directly onto the sour cream for more legit crunch in crunchwrap. Added bonus! It reheats very well. I kept it wrapped in foil to warm it through and then put it on the direct pan to recrisp the outside.

In conclusion, I'm fascinated that Taco Bell has popularized this format of tortilla folding. I highly recommend stuffing it with other things, it makes barely any mess. It's warm, comforting and fun to eat. 

---

Have you tried this recipe? Tag me @Randwiches on Instagram to let me know. What other Taco Bell hacks do you want to see? Tweet your requests to me!

South of the Border Breakfast Hack: M-egg-xican Pizza

When I was little, I loved the crispy and totally ethnically contentious Taco Bell Mexican pizza. I was feeling nostalgic and made a batch for my friends one night. It was simply enough to figure out: crispy tortillas, a savory bean spread, cheese and hot sauce. However, a lightbulb went off when I realized I would have leftovers. Has anyone ever tried to put an egg in the middle? Like an egg in a hole...Mexican pizza? I'm happy to present my DIY M-egg-xican Pizza!

For the tortillas:

You need two fajita sized flour tortillas per serving.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Use a cookie cutter to make a 1.5" circle from the middle of each tortilla. Since I didn't have one big enough, I used a small circle to cut 5 overlapping ones, which is why the hole looks like a flower. Don't ask questions, it just happened this way.

Place the tortillas on the oven grates for 5 minutes. Flip them over and turn the oven off, be careful that they don't get too crispy. You want them to be firm, but not like a cracker. Keep them in the oven until you are ready to assemble.

For the ground beef (or...whatever vegetarian protein you like to pretend is food....):
1 raw hamburger patty (It's about the same amount as 1.5 vegetarian Italian sausages.)	1/4 tsp of salt 1/2 tsp of cumin 1/2 tsp of chili powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Crumble and saute whatever protein you chose with the seasonings. I don't use any fat to cook the beef but I sometimes add a splash of water to make it saucy and scrape some of the flavors from the pan.

For the black beans:
You can either use a ready-made can of beans OR make them from scratch! 1 pint of dry black beans 1 quart of water 1 pint of broth	Any leftover pickle juice 4 oz of cream cheese 1/2 cup of milk

Soak the beans overnight. Add enough water to allow them to double in size. Once they've been reconstituted, discard the soaking water and rinse the beans before throwing them into a pot. Cover with a jar of leftover pickle juice and the broth (or whey if you make labneh!).  Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer, covered until the beans are tender. Maybe it might take 4 hours. I have no idea, I was playing Skyrim: Dragonborn.

Once the beans are cooked (bite but not mealy mouthfeel), drain them (save the liquid for soup maybe!). Blend with an immersion blender or food processor with the cream cheese, milk and any leftover broth if it has a difficult time mixing. It should be smooth, purple-y and spreadable like thick peanut butter.

To assemble:
From the above-- Your prepared tortillas Black bean spread Taco Bell-esque seasoned protein PLUS-- Hot sauce of your choice. *If you're a wuss, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste thinned out with 2 table spoons of water would do fine.	A bag of trashy shredded cheese (OR fine, be a purist and grate it yourself) Butter An egg for each serving Frying pan Lipped sheet pan

Remove your tortillas from the oven and turn the oven back on to its lowest setting. Spread black beans carefully on one tortilla, making sure not to block the hole you made. Place it in a pan and turn the fire to medium. Put a pat of butter into the hole. Sprinkle a little cheese over the beans, your protein (not pictured, btw) and top with another tortilla.. Sprinkle hot sauce over the 2nd tortilla and finish it with more shredded cheese. As the butter is sizzling, crack an egg into the middle of the tortilla. When the egg whites have spread out as far as they will go, carefully use a spatula to move the whole thing to a sheet pan. Put the pan in the oven to finish the egg and ready the next tortilla if you are cooking more. 

When you take the pizza out of the oven, you want the cheese to be melted, the egg a little under but custardy. Be careful not to burn the underside! Slice it into quarters and enjoy!

What other fast food hacks do you want to see? Let me know by tweeting to @Randwiches.