THE PLEASURE OF EATING

WRAPS ON A ROLL

Wondering what to do with all those leftovers? Tortillas to the rescue ...

STORY BY PRISNA BOONSINSUKH, Photos by LOUIS BOONSINSUKH

From a lot of advertising clients with big warehouses, or what are today called "distribution centres", I learned about Fifo, or "first in, first out", a system of rotation that makes sure you don't leave a lot of old stock on your shelves. I use Fifo in my storeroom, too, or at least I try. But I still find some tinned and other packaged food well past their use-by dates lurking in the dark corners of the store shelves every once in a while. But, wait a minute, these stamped dates that have become our new consciousness are not all "use bys". They are also "best before", "display until", "sell by", or for Thai products, simply "expire on". So what's the difference?

I have no data on how the Thai packaging law works. But of the other four designations, use-by is the one to seriously watch out for. This is supposed to be stamped on foods with a short shelf life that are highly perishable from a microbiological point of view. Which means you see use by more on ready meals, dairy products and meat. In the UK, a product is valid until midnight of the use by date marked. Anything past that "constitutes an immediate danger to human health" and it's illegal to sell it. A use by period is calculated based on the durability of ingredients, with factors such as a hot car journey from supermarket to the fridge also built in. Those of us who had talked ourselves into believing that a tub of yoghurt a couple of days over its date must still be all right, can take comfort in the fact that use by dates usually err on the side of caution.

Tinned food, on the other hand, is impervious to time. The 120C temperature used in the canning process means the contents can last indefinitely provided the tin is undented. One recently recovered from Captain Scott's 1910 Antarctic expedition was still deemed safe to eat, for instance. So, a modern tin is not obliged to have a use by date. But most tinned goods have a date stamped on it which is taken as an expiry date by most people. Other packaged foods carry a best before or sell by, and some manufacturers even advise display-until. These are all guides to help shop staff know how long a product should stay on the shelf. Although sale beyond these dates is not health threatening, it does mean that the food is past its prime taste-wise.

In our climate though, storage conditions are an important factor. It's all very well to say that tinned food can last forever, but I have seen tins of canned tomatoes or peaches that were actually swollen out of shape, with the pressure inside sending out veritable geysers when I tried to open them. Also tins can react to our high humidity by sprouting rust before their time. The most difficult thing is to make up your mind to throw expired food away. People of my generation will always have the admonition of our parents ringing in our ears when food is left uneaten on a plate: "Think of the starving millions in Africa." To discard even potentially dangerous food into a waste bin takes quite a lot of soul searching. But in the end, you know, it is the only thing to do, because the alternative could be the agony of food poisoning. In the West, supermarkets and other purveyors of food, are required by law to dispose of food beyond its use by date.

A more sensible alternative is, of course, to keep a tight rein on our greed and not let marketing ploys like buy-one-get-one-free make us buy things in the dozen when all we ever use is two or three. Another thing I do is to collect useful columns like "Everyday Store Cupboard" in the BBC Good Food magazine, which gives you tips on 10 ways with ... whatever - leftover olives, tins of tuna, etc. It recently paid off handsomely when I found in the deeper recess of one of the shelves a few packs of corn tortillas doomed to soon be annihilated. Out of the "10 ways with tortillas" article, I am using the eight suggestions for which ingredients are easy to come by. I know that not everyone will happen to have packs of tortillas hidden away - in fact, I'm quite sure no one does - but while preparing these dishes, my enthusiasm for tortilla re-emerged so much that I hope to convince you to go out and buy some to make these delicious titbits.

Each recipe here is for making use of one tortilla only. So double and triple it if you are making more, as I'm sure you would like to share them with family and friends after tasting them. Take the cheesy chicken quesadilla. Here you can substitute other meat for chicken, other melting cheese for brie, and you would still have a very satisfying fried sandwich that needs no oil. For speedy pizza, I use the tinned red pepper, already peeled and squishy, in place of the more usual tomatoes, then sprinkle on olives, capers and lots of mozzarella. But you know, don't you, that this is a great opportunity to use up bits of leftovers in your fridge. Smoked salmon roll requires well-softened cream cheese to be generously spread on the tortilla before laying over thin slices of smoked salmon, with a squeeze of lemon juice and a few turns of the pepper mill before rolling up. This makes very pretty and tasty canapes. Ham and cheese wrap is a similar idea, using mayonnaise, grated cheddar and slices of ham giving you a hearty sandwich roll.

The takeaway tuna wrap goes one step further by arraying itself in a twist of greaseproof paper ready to go into anybody's lunchbox. Inside the wrap, flaked, canned tuna keeps company with pesto sauce, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and some salad greens - a real meal on-the-go. Zesty prawn burrito may not be as much of a moveable feast, as the bulging filling calls for a plate and a sit down. But I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving a bit of quality time to this delightful assembly that brings together tender prawns, feisty chilli, tangy lime zest and juice, and crisp lettuce.

The last two are tortillas on their own. One baked as croutons for salad, the other brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with spices and baked as crisps.

Cheesy chicken quesadilla

- Sandwich shredded cooked chicken with a few slices of brie between two tortillas. Toast each side, without any oil, for two to three minutes in a large non-stick frying pan until the tortilla is browned and the filling is hot. Slice and serve with cranberry sauce or your favourite chutney for dipping.

Speedy pizza

- Lay a tortilla on a baking sheet and spread with roasted, peeled red peppers. Sprinkle over some olives and capers, plus a handful of grated mozzarella. Bake for eight to 10 minutes at 200C/fan 180C until the tortilla base is crisp and the cheese has melted. Serve with a small handful of rocket.

Smoked salmon roll

- Spread a tortilla with softened cream cheese, then layer over sliced smoked salmon. Drizzle with lemon juice and grind over black pepper. Roll up like a pin wheel and either cut in two as snack or slice into rounds as canapes.

Ham and cheese wrap

- For lunchboxes, spread each tortilla with mayonnaise, scatter over a mix of finely grated cheddar and chopped spring onion, then drape over sliced ham and wrap up tightly. To serve, cut in half down the middle.

Takeaway tuna wrap

- Spread a tortilla with one tablespoon green pesto and cover with a small tin of drained, flaked tuna, handful salad leaves and some roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Roll up from one edge and wrap in greaseproof paper, twisting the ends to secure like a cracker.

Zesty prawn burrito

- Stir-fry a large handful of prawns with one teaspoon finely chopped chilli and the zest and juice of half a lime for a few minutes until the prawns are cooked. Season, then mix with roughly chopped coriander leaves. Warm a large tortilla and fill with shredded lettuce, the zesty prawns and a good spoonful of sour cream. Wrap up and enjoy.

Crispy crouton salad

- Brush a tortilla with oil on both sides, then tear into small pieces. Bake at 200C/fan 180C for 10 minutes until crisp. Dice half a small avocado and a large tomato, mix with a large handful of baby spinach and some crisp bacon rashers. Drizzle the salad with one teaspoon balsamic vinegar and one teaspoon olive oil, season, then top with the crispy tortilla croutons for a quick dinner for one.

Spiced tortilla chips

- Brush both sides of a tortilla with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a few pinches of spice (try Cajun seasoning or a chilli and paprika mix). Cut into eight to 10 wedges, then bake at 200C/fan 180C, turning halfway. Serve with dips.

Bangkok Post

Last Updated : Sunday April 08, 2007