Vegan chicken salad wraps

Like the Cardinals, my baseball-obsessed kiddos have already begun spring training, which means a lot of dining alfresco (by which I mean in the car, speeding to practices and games). Craving a more elegant meal than my usual PB&J, I decided to make a vegan chicken salad that would taste rich and travel well. Wraps are my preferred mobile entree because less of the meal drops into the juice box puddles on my floor mats. But first, I needed a chicken substitute. My research suggested tempeh or processed faux chicken, but frankly, I find both textures as chewy as a catcher’s mitt. My friend saved the day – and the project – when she told me about The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. It’s a fantastic collection of clever vegan recipes, including a “chicken” salad made out of chickpeas. It turns out canned chickpeas can be flaked into tender pieces that resemble roasted chicken. Home run! Traditional mayonnaise is dairy-free, but it contains raw eggs, which are the scourge of both vegans and sunny all-day baseball tournaments. There are several good plant-based alternatives on the grocery shelves, including Just Mayo, which tastes so much like the real thing that my carnivores have no idea they’ve been eating it (until now). But if you have the time, you should make your own vegan aioli from scratch because it’s surprisingly easy to whip up, tastes light and fresh, and is infinitely customizable with dill, rosemary and other herbs. Liddon’s recipe calls for soy milk and a cup of oil, whirled in a blender until the watery liquids transform into a semi-solid mayonnaise substitute. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of soy milk’s taste, even when I add a full lineup of herbs. And while I will cheerfully snarf a cup o’ fries from the snack bar, I can’t stomach a cup of oil, no matter how mayo-like it looks. To reduce the amount of oil, I used firm tofu instead of soy milk. A few spins of my immersion blender and just two tablespoons of oil was all it took to make a creamy, neutral-tasting vegan mayo. Once the chickpeas are flaked and your mayo is fluffed, it’s time to play with your food. You can complement the chickpeas with Mediterranean flavors like garlic and tahini or go old-school with a spoonful of pickle relish. Red bell peppers add crunch, as do the celery, raw red onion and bean sprouts I used in my own recipe. Here I chose a crisp green lettuce leaf to hold everything together, but you can just as easily substitute a sturdier flour tortilla. In the beginning, all I wanted was a yummy recipe that could be enjoyed with one hand on the wheel. But the beauty of this wrap is all the ways you can change up the flavors. And that feels like a win for team veggie. Vegan Chicken Salad Inspired by recipes in The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon 6 wraps 6 oz. firm silken tofu, drained 2 tsp. plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, plus more to taste 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, plus more to taste 1∕8 tsp. plus ¼ tsp. table salt, plus more to taste 2 Tbsp. canola oil 2 tsp. chopped fresh dill (optional) 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 Tbsp. red onion, finely diced ¼ cup celery, finely diced Pinch of white pepper 6 whole leaves romaine or bibb lettuce 1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced 1 oz. bean sprouts • First, make the mayonnaise. Using an immersion blender, blend the tofu, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, mustard and 1∕8 teaspoon table salt until the ingredients are well combined. With the blender on, add the canola oil in a slow drizzle while gently moving the blender up and down until the mixture has the desired texture. Stir in the dill, if using. Taste, then add more lemon juice, mustard and dill as desired. Set the mayonnaise aside, or cover and refrigerate overnight. • Pat the chickpeas dry with a clean towel and place in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to gently press and flake the chickpeas until they have the appearance of shredded chicken. Add ½ cup mayonnaise, the red onion, the celery, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, the remaining ¼ teaspoon table salt and the white pepper. Mix well. • Lay the lettuce leaves on a work surface. Divide the tomato slices evenly among the leaves. Place ¼ cup chickpea mixture on top of the tomato slices. Garnish evenly with the bean sprouts. Roll the lettuce leaves from the bottom up, or fold the leaves in half, taco-style. Keep cool until ready to eat.