I have been so, so, SO sick ever since I returned from NYC. I caught the nastiest cold I’ve had in a long while. When I’m sick, I hardly eat. Once I start to get my appetite back, the last thing I want to do is cook. In fact, sitting on the couch and watching Star Trek (more on that in a moment) with my husband is about all I’m up to. That means the food I make needs to be easy, fast, light, and healthy.

Enter hasperat. My new favorite sandwich.

The Star Trek fans among you will recognize the dish. Hasperat is a spicy wrap, made with brine, that’s often talked about and enjoyed by inhabitants of the planet Bajor. That’s about all the information given about it. I’m sure you all think I’m crazy right about now. Who makes imaginary food from Sci-Fi television shows?

I guess I do?

I’ve only recently become a Star Trek fan, and ever since my husband and I started watching it, I thought it’d be really fun (if not hopelessly nerdy) to create some alien food. I’ve considered Vulcan Plomeek Soup, Klingon Gagh, and Cardassian Yamok Sauce over asparagus. When my husband came home from the store today with some tortillas, I knew that Bajoran Hasperat was the way to go.

Are you all still there, or have I… uh… alienated you?

Oh boy.

Better get on with the recipe, huh. I promise you’ll like this sandwich regardless of your feelings about space travel, dilithium crystals, warp core breeches, holosuites, phasers, or the Dominion.

Hasperat is supposed to be really spicy and salty. Those of you who don’t like eye-watering food can easily make the mild version of this (I just had it, and it was delicious), but the addition of horseradish flavored hummus, or tabasco sauce, would make a more authentic dish. Well, if a recipe I made up to resemble imaginary food eaten by imaginary aliens on an imaginary planet can be called “authentic”.

Hasperat

For Two

2 10″ Wheat Tortillas

1/2 Cup Hummus (Any flavor, plain or horseradish is nice)

1 Small Cucumber, sliced very thin (about 1/2 cup)

1 Carrot, shredded (about 1/3 cup)

1 1/2 Tbs Tamari (or regular soy sauce)

1 1/2 Tbs Rice Vinegar

Black Pepper

2 Small Handfuls Baby Spinach

Hot Chili Sauce/Tabasco, optional

Using a mandoline, or your food processor, or a sharp knife, slice the cucumber very thinly and place in a large bowl. Add the carrot. Add tamari and rice vinegar and toss. Let marinate 5-10 minutes (or longer, if desired).

Warm your tortillas so they’re pliable. You can microwave them for a few seconds with a damp paper towel, heat them in a dry skillet, or (my favorite) hold them directly over the flame of your gas burning stove.

Spread the tortillas with hummus, 3-4 Tbs each, making sure you cover the entire surface. This will help the sandwich stick together. Arrange the cucumber slices in one layer, slightly overlapping. Add carrot, and sprinkle some fresh pepper over the top. Add a layer of baby spinach.

Roll up the wrap, tucking in the ends, and place on a hot grill pan to slightly warm and create pretty grill marks. You can do this in a regular pan if you don’t have a grill pan. Slice and eat immediately.

End transmission.