Lavash rolls with hummus & spicy cabbage

Hooray! Sandwiches!

For some reason, I have only really gotten into lavash bread in the past several months. Probably this is because we never had a good source of lavash until we moved somewhere with an easily walkable yet amazing Middle Eastern market. But then I still spent a couple years ignoring the lavash and instead eating lots of labneh. It's not as though I never went out and ordered lavash sandwiches at any of the local Middle Eastern restaurants, because I definitely did. I don't know, man.

Anyway. We have started buying lavash, filling it with a variety of delightful items, and eating it. What were we waiting for? Clearly, it's one of the best ways to get as many vegetables into your system as possible.

Lavash rolls with hummus, spicy cabbage, and assorted other veg

olive oil
garlic
ginger, sumac, red pepper flake, mustard seed, cumin seed, sesame seed
salt, pepper
cabbage
lavash bread
hummus
carrot
pickles (peppers, turnips, cucumber)
labneh
fresh herbs
any additional veg you think sounds good

We're going to start by making a panful of spicy cabbage. Peel, crush, and mince a couple cloves of garlic; throw them in a frying pan with a slug of olive oil.

If you have fresh ginger, peel a chunk, mince it up, and add it to the pan. If not, use several shakes of ground ginger. Season the garlic and oil with several shakes apiece of sumac, red pepper flake, mustard seed (yellow, brown, whatever), cumin seed, and/or sesame seed. If you don't have all of these, that's ok--you can always use a bit more of whatever you do have on hand. You can also go a totally different direction with curry powder or sriracha sauce. Improvise! It's all good.

Cook your spices and garlic together over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mustard seeds start popping. It should take three minutes or so, depending on heat. This is going to infuse the garlic and spice flavors into the oil and make your entire kitchen smell amazing.

While you're waiting, shred up as much cabbage as you want to eat. I used about half a cabbage for two sandwiches. You could also cook some additional shredded veg here if you want--carrot, kohlrabi, broccoli stems, beets, or what have you. Add the shredded cabbage to the pan, along with a big pinch of salt; stir to coat well in the oil. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, or until the cabbage is wilted and tender to your taste. Correct the seasonings as needed. If you aren't having pickles in your sandwich, you might want to add a splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice off the heat.

Warm your lavash in a foil packet in the oven or toaster oven. Shred a carrot (purple or not) and slice up whatever additional vegetables you want to eat raw in your sandwich. I did one version with lots of sprouts and pickled peppers, and another version a few days later with thinly sliced garlic dills, cilantro, and labneh. Both of those were excellent.

When your cabbage is done, it's time to make sandwiches. Get out a piece of warm lavash and spread it with hummus. If you want to mix it up with baba ghanouj or any other delicious spread, now is the time. Layer your cabbage on top of your hummus and top with your raw vegetables and herbs. Roll everything up into a delicious sandwich. Skewer with a toothpick and cut in half as needed.

Now eat it!

This sandwich seems very simple, but it's so much more than the sum of its parts: crunchy and tender and warm and spicy and crispy and amazing. It's perfect with a hot bowl of soup, but it's also pretty delicious on its own.

Hooray for lunching!