Maple peanut California wraps

This wrap sustained me through a week in the desert, listening to music, a few years ago – just the right combination of refreshing greens and vitamin-loaded carrot and good protein energy from tempeh and seeds.

But the crowning glory here is the sauce – it’s one of those sauces that hits every flavour level and leaves you wanting more. It’s good on a salad, too. I have to say it has been known for me to eat two of these on the trot – they are that good. Very quick to put together, these are a weekday lunch for me at least once a week, and often make an appearance in summer for supper, with some roasted sweet potato wedges.

Tempeh is a cake of pressed soya beans. It is a great source of protein and works well in most recipes where you might use tofu. I buy my tempeh from my local health food shop. Tempeh is a fermented food, which actually makes it much easier to digest than other types of soya. Tempeh does need a bit of special treatment, such as this marinade, as its flavour is quite neutral. Firm tofu would work here, too.

Makes 4 wraps

Ingredients:

4 wholemeal tortillas

2 carrots, grated

4 tbsp mixed toasted seeds

4 handfuls of salad greens

For the tempeh:

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

200g tempeh, cut into 1cm slices

For the peanut dressing:

2 tbsp all-natural peanut butter

2 tbsp miso paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp tahini

Juice of 1 lemon

Method:

1. Mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, olive oil and vinegar in a bowl. Add the tempeh and turn to coat in the marinade. Leave to one side.

2. Next, make the dressing. Whisk all the ingredients together, with a tablespoon of water if it’s too thick, taste and check for balance, then set aside.

3. Heat a dry pan and fry the tempeh for a couple of minutes on each side until browned and starting to caramelise. Warm the tortillas – I do this by holding them with tongs over a gas fame for a few seconds, but the oven or a dry non-stick pan will do too.

4. To assemble each wrap, place some tempeh on each tortilla, top with a quarter of the grated carrot, seeds and greens, then add a quarter of the dressing.

5. Repeat with the rest of the wraps.

Recipe from A Modern Way To Eat by Anna Jones (Fourth Estate, £25)