Creating healthy meals in a hotel room without a kitchen is a bit of a challenge, but these delicious wraps are chock full of the summers best veggies, and easy enough that we were able to make them in our hotel room with only very basic equipment. Is this frowned upon? Probably, but being the mavericks that we are we just don’t care- we are getting a fresh, healthy meal and saving money.Win and win. All you need for these simple wraps is a cutting board, bowl, plate and knife. A microwave would be nice and a stove top would be ideal (oh, how I miss a stovetop!!). But the point is, if I am able to do it in a hotel room with only those 4 kitchen utensils, you can easily put these together at home, or on a vacation- anywhere really!
Spicy Basil Veggie Wraps
Serves 4
2 Cloves Garlic
10 Basil Leaves, chiffonade
Juice of 1 Small Lemon
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeño (or to taste, I like it spicy!)
1 Cucumber
1/2 Small Onion
1/4 cup Peanuts, crushed
1 Small Bundle (50g) Rice Noodles
4 Whole Wheat Wraps
First, break up rice noodles as best as possible, add to a bowl. Cover the noodles with hot water and cover the bowl (the closer you can get the water to boiling the faster the noodles soften. Hot tap water will work but the noodles will take up to 25 minutes to soften. If you use hot tap water be sure to change the water every 10 minutes to ensure your noodles are always in hot water). Prep other ingredients while you wait.
Mince garlic and combine with basil and lemon juice. Allow to marinate while you prep other veggies
Cut the bell pepper and jalapeño in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and thinly slice lengthwise into long strips. Cut cucumber into thin strips. Thinly slice onion into rings. Cut those rings in half so you have strips of onion.
When your noodles are soft, drain them well and toss with the basil, garlic and lemon juice mixture.
Lay wraps out, divide red peppers, jalapeños, cucumber and onions equally among the wraps, laying them legthwise. Top with crushed peanuts and divide the rice noodles among the 4 wraps. Roll and serve,
Notes:
Add some chopped cilantro and chopped mint to the rice noodles to really amp of the flavor and add depth to the wraps.
Grilled chicken or pork would be awesome in these as well, this is a very versatile recipe so use this as a starting point and get creative!