Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Terran-Style Hasperat

I've been a Trekker for nearly twenty years, and my favorite Star Trek character aside from Spock is Major Kira Nerys from the third Trek series, Deep Space Nine.  The only thing my two favorite characters from Trek have in common, aside from the traumatic childhood so common to Star Trek aliens, is that they both come from very advanced cultures (well, the Bajora were advanced before the Cardassians got to them) and that they are vegetarians as a result.  Anyway, tonight I honored the always kick-ass Kira by preparing human-friendly version of hasperat, a famous Bajoran delicacy.

Two sources inspired me:  Keckler (of Television Without Pity fame) wrote a review of the Star Trek Cookbook that mentioned hasperat, and last night, as I was watching an episode of Next Generation, I got the yen to google "hasperat" and found this yummy sounding recipe.  That did it! I spent a particularly boring day at work coming up with my own version, which is as follows:

  • 1 tomato
  • 1 cucumber 
  • 1-3 tablespoons of red pepper hummus
  • 1 diced jalapeno pepper
  • a few squirts of siracha hotsauce (which, alas, I could not have tonight as I am getting over being sick and I'm still not quite a hundred percent yet)   
  • 3-4 slices of cheddar cheese
  • 2 large lavash wraps (tortillas are okay, but I find they tend to be a little too stiff for cold wraps) 
  • several leaves of Romaine or Boston lettuce
Lay the lavash wrap on a plate, and spread with red pepper hummus.  Scatter the diced jalapeno pepper over the hummus, and then layer cheese on top.  Add the slices of tomato and cucumber, and put the lettuce leaves on top.  Roll tightly. 

"Real" hesperat is also supposed to have a sour taste, as it is to be soaked in brine for hours before eating.  I contemplated adding pickle or tabouli to the sandwich, but Eric's not all that fond of pickled things and my poor post-cold stomach wasn't really on board with the idea either.  I'd love to hear how it tastes if someone does try that, though.  

3 comments:

  1. I wish I could try it, but I just kicked my hummus addiction!

    Keep the ceeps comming!

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  2. I've been contemplating a 'ceep using guacamole instead -- maybe you could test pilot it?

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  3. Thanks, I think I'll try to make it for the Star Trek party I'm planning!

    Bye from Holland,
    Monique

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