MAKES: 4 WRAPS (1 CUP FILLING PER WRAP) • DIFFICULTY: easy
One of the ingredients of curry powder, which is one of my favorite spice mixes, is turmeric. Besides being so good for you, turmeric gives the blend its beautiful yellow color. The curried chickpea filling in this recipe is also great in lettuce wraps or served as a dip. Try it with Three-Seed Crackers for a flavorful starter or snack.
1½ cups cooked or 1 15.5-ounce BPA-free can or Tetra Pak salt-free chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1½ teaspoons curry powder, or to taste
1 teaspoon blended peeled lemon (see here)
1 teaspoon date sugar
¼ teaspoon white miso paste
½ cup chopped celery
⅓ cup shredded carrot
⅓ cup chopped cashews
⅓ cup raisins
1 firm sweet apple, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
4 100% whole-grain tortillas
2 cups shredded lettuce
In a food processor, combine 1 cup of the chickpeas with the curry powder, lemon, date sugar, miso, and Savory Spice Blend to taste with 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Process until smooth. Add the remaining ½ cup of chickpeas and the celery, carrot, cashews, raisins, apple, and scallion, and pulse just to combine and break up the chickpeas a bit. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
To assemble, divide the chickpea mixture evenly onto the tortillas and top each with the lettuce. Tightly roll up each of the tortillas to make a wrap. Cut each wrap in half and serve immediately.
The more chickpeas (and other legumes) you eat, the healthier you are. In one study, researchers divided overweight subjects into two groups. The first group was asked to eat 5 cups a week of chickpeas, lentils, split peas, or navy beans—but not to change their diet in any other way. The second group was asked to simply cut out 500 calories a day from their diet. Guess who got healthier? The group directed to eat more food. Eating chickpeas and other beans was shown to be just as effective at slimming waistlines and improving blood sugar control as it is at cutting calories. The legume group also gained additional benefits in the form of improved cholesterol and insulin regulation.112