Wrap Update: Lavash
This IS a wrap sandwich, but it is by no means a sandwich in a wrap. Wraps are gross, overly absorbant, and yet somehow not absorbant at all, gummy, flavorless wastes of carbs. I mean it. No more wrap sandwiches. Find something else to roll your sandwich stuff in, like lavash. The Middle Eastern soft flatbread is perfectly suited to the task, and if you happen to like lamb and tzatziki, baba ghanoush and halloumi or even just ham and cheese, lunch is going to be just fine.
So lavash is a square sheet of bread made of flour, water and salt. No yeast. It's like matzoh, but soft. As if a square sheet of bread wasn't enough of a blank canvas, the dough is often baked longer to make crackers. These crackers will cause you to power through a tub of hummus faster than you ever imagined possible.
While fresh lavash does go stale quickly, it's easily revived with a little steam — as is frequently done at lunchtime in Armenia, Iran, Turkey and other northern Middle East countries. This makes it way more of a practical option than fluffy, vulnerable, non-revivable bread. Quick story: once during the summer monsoon in India I was asked to put the bread from the delivery guy in the bread box in the kitchen, so it wouldn't go bad. A lazy and disobedient child, I did not put the bread in the bread box, and within several hours the loaf had turned blue with mold. Moral: Bread in harsh climates is vulnerable. Defer to lavash. Also, don't let your kids get used to blaming stuff on servants when in other countries.
It seems most logical to wrap famous Middle Eastern pairings in this tasty stuff. Lamb and some kind of minty, yogurt-based sauce, as I suggested, or ajvar (my new favorite sandwich condiment), leftover chicken and fresh cilantro. But lavash doesn't judge your country of origin, race, religion, sexual preferences or penchant for the weird sandwich combinations of your childhood. It also won't protest if you make it into pinwheels or flatbread pizza — it's actually awesome for both.
Ready to throw away that zip-top pack of tortillas with the fridge smell-tainted condensation seeping through? Spectacular. Here are some other suggestions:
More Wrap Updates on Food Republic: