Adventures with goat cheese and a misplaced sense of direction
| Editorial |
By Alison Mann
Red Seal Chef
So, I packed my bags and headed north to Dawson Creek for culinary school. This was no easy task, as I had never lived out of Williams Lake since we moved here when I was three. Plus, my sense of direction is terrible.Although I do road trips every chance I get to explore our beautiful province, I am generally lost much of the time.
This can sometimes produce happy, accidental discoveries of places unknown, but mostly it is a waste of precious gas! That said, Dawson Creek is pretty much a straight line up Hwy 97 and is the start of the Alaska Highway. So on arrival I checked into the dorm at Northern Lights College-- the place I would call home for the next 10 months. The following day I would meet my Chef instructors and fellow culinary students.
That evening after a solitary meal in a very quiet dorm room I could not help but question my sanity! Cooking and eating for one took on a whole new meaning so I made life easy and got into wraps and sandwiches, ready to go on the fly.
Chicken Pesto Wraps or Veqqie Pesto Wraps
Your favorite wraps…these come in all flavours from regular white to whole wheat to spinach or tomato and pesto. I mix it up.
8 ounces goat cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
Blend the cheeses together in a food processor until smooth and spreadable
4 tbsp pesto (you can buy this or make it…homemade gives you more control with ingredients as pesto normally has pine nuts in it: allergy alert!)
2-3 chicken breasts roasted
4 tbsp sundried tomatoes drained and chopped finely
Whether you’re using chicken or not, you can add roasted peppers, onion and zucchini (I roast in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the same as the chicken)
To ‘construct’ wraps, spread cheese evenly over wrap, cover with a thin layer of pesto; add chicken and sundried tomatoes and/or veggies; turn up both sides of the wrap and with your thumbs roll flat edge away from you. Wrap as tightly as you can without ‘squishing’, cut diagonally, and stack one on the other if you are serving to company.
These are very colourful and very tasty and can also be made ahead and refrigerated.
Pesto (or paste): I grow a variety of herbs in pots around my patio; they will grow all summer as I constantly harvest and cook with them. By the end of the summer I usually have a bounty to deal with so I make pesto, and then freeze it in small freezer bags so I can use it all winter.
I will put many varieties of herbs into a food processor with garlic, and olive oil, sometimes adding parmesan cheese, sometimes pine nuts; you can create your own favorite flavours.
Enjoy!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
