For My 150th Post, Wrapped Up..Grilled Veggies and Couscous in Aioli Dressing

 

Hi friends! I feel elated typing this post as I cross another landmark. For this, I decided to share a wrap which I am very fond of and is surely very very tasty and healthy too.

Mocha is a favorite hangout place for me and DH and we keep exploring their menu every time we visit it but this wrap has surely become a regular order. It was after reading the description in menu card that I learnt about the aioli dressing and wanted to give this a try. The aioli dressing as I have understood is a French dressing for salads and meat. It is garlicky, creamy and like mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil and oil  soluble compounds in water and water soluble compounds.

To make the wraps my first hurdle was to get hold of Couscous which is not so easily available here, gladly my good old INA market came to my rescue. For a foodie this market is a must to visit. Working with couscous is a child’s play, they are so easy to work with that it does not need any detailed explanation.

The next step was convincing S to by a grill pan (actually it’s a steak pan but grills excellent), to my delight after 2 years of pestering I eventually bought it  a few days back.

Once I had this there was no looking back I had to make this wrap. The original recipe asks for char grilled veggies but I was happy by grilling my veggies on this pan, since it’s a cast iron pan it gave a nice rustic, burnt and smoky flavor to the veggies.

There are many aioli recipes available on the net. I read many and then suiting our taste buds concocted mine. This was my first attempt to make this dressing so with all apprehensions in mind I made this and was extremely happy with the result.

I also made whole wheat tortillas at home, yes, I did work hard for this post but during the entire process I was worried how the end product would be. The tortillas are so easy to make if you are used to making thin rotis regularly at home, for me it was an easy task surely and I was mighty happy looking at my tortillas.

Finally came assembling the wrap, then grilling it and at last dig into it. I was so apprehensive that I served it first to my son and I jumped with joy the minute he showed his thumbs up with the first bite. The taste was as close as I could get to Mocha’s. I patted myself for all the hard work and made a wrap for myself.

So here’s what I did…

Ingredients for Aioli Dressing

1 garlic

2 egg yolks

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup EVOO

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp cold water

1 tsp crushed whole grain mustard

 

Method

Bring the eggs to rooms temperature and then separate the egg yolks.

Finely chop the garlic and mix it with salt.

Whisk the egg yolks with the garlic.

Add half of EVOO gradually drop by drop while whisking continuously. I used my electric beater for this process. Be careful as the oil needs to get mixed with the water component to form the emulsion. If precaution is not taken then the oil-water components separate.

After adding half the oil add  lime juice, water and beat. After this stage the oil can be added in more quantities and keep whisking.

The end product’s a thick, viscous, garlic flavored emulsion which can be used as a dip or dressing.

Ingredients For Whole Wheat Tortillas

(makes about 13)

1 cup APF

1-3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbsp oil/shortening

1 cup warm water

Method

Mix both the flours and salt. Add the oil and rub and mix to get a bread crumbs like texture.

Add water gradually and knead a dough which is soft but not as soft as a bread dough.

Cover it with a cloth and let it stand for an hour.

Divide the dough into 12-13 parts and then give each part  a ball shape.

roll each ball on a floured surface into thin 7inch circles.

Heat a griddle and roast the tortilla lightly on each side on  a medium high flame. Turn immediately as light blisters appear.

Do not over roast else they will turn crisp.

Preparing Couscous

Boil 150 ml water with 1/2 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp salt. Add this to 150g of couscous, mix  and let it stand for 2mins so that it can fluff. Add 2 tbsp butter to it and mix again. The couscous is ready to be used.

Grilling the Vegetables

Cube a half of green, yellow and red capsicum, half onion and slice 1/4 zucchini (one can add veggies of their choice). Grill on high flame till they are slightly charred from either side. Then chop them.

Couscous and Grilled  Vegetables Stuffing For The Wrap

Mix in the couscous, 4-5 tbsp aioli dressing, 1 tsp white pepper pwd, a pinch of crushed rosemary and salt if required.

 

Assembling the WRAP

Take the tortilla and place about 4-5 tbsp of the stuffing at one end and then wrap as shown in the pics.

Grill the wrap with a little butter on the griddle on either side.

Serve hot.

These wraps can make a heavy snack, a good dinner item or are even good for brunch.

Would love to hear from my silent readers too, so leave me a note please.

Sending this to Iftar Moments Hajiri 1431 hosted by Taste of Pearl City.