You can always use “real” bacon if you prefer!!
Do you remember when BLT’s were all the rage?
Despite its documented existence since the early 1900’s, the BLT really only made an appearance in the Australian food scene in the 70’s. Like its American cousin, the club sandwich, the BLT sandwich contains bacon, lettuce and tomato with lashings of mayonnaise on toasted white bread. The difference being, the club often has an extra layer of toast and chicken included too. The “A” in BLAT includes my favourite fat: avocado!
My first experience with a BLT was as a teenager in a local Dennys restaurant in the 80’s. The chain has since gone bust in Australia but thrives in America and Canada. It was the first 24 hour restaurant in Melbourne and had a keen nocturnal following – especially with hospitality staff, who now had a place to hobnob after work.
Contrary to the sandwiches in my school lunch-box, the BLT is FAT – there are several layers of bacon, chunky tomato and copious amounts of shredded iceberg lettuce. All glued together with a generous slathering of mayonnaise. My lunch box favourite as a kid was ham, cheese & tomato. My brothers favourite was strasburg (fritz, polony) & tomato sauce!! Cringe!!
This version is made in a wrap. As much as I love the odd slice of toasted paleo bread or even gluten-free bread I could never sit down to a sandwich made of the stuff! My previous recipe for tortillas would fill me up too much too, although they’re great with a BBQ sausage.
These wraps are vegetable based and RAW! They last for ages in the fridge and freeze well too. Depending on the extent that you dehydrate them, they stay lovely and pliable without cracking or drying out. I stored mine, wrapped in baking paper, sealed in a plastic container, in the fridge and they were good for 2 weeks.
Feel free to fill with fair-dinkum bacon – but to keep this recipe raw, I have made my own eggplant bacon – you will find the recipe here.
Wraps
220g linseeds
100g raw almonds
400g chopped carrots
40g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained*
150g red capsicum
2 cloves garlic
A handful of fresh herbs, (I used parsley, basil & a little rosemary)
20g apple cider vinegar
30g water
1 heaped teas salt
cracked black pepper, turmeric to taste (optional)
To Assemble
Shredded iceberg lettuce or baby spinach
1 fresh tomato, sliced
1 ripe avocado
Eggplant bacon or the real deal
Paleo mayo or sour nut cream or sunflower dressing
Mill the linseeds and nuts on SP 10 for 15 seconds. Add the carrots, sun-dried tomatoes, capsicum, garlic, herbs, and vinegar & salt. Blend on SP 8 for about a minute, or as long as it takes to become a thick smooth paste – add the water to help, if required.
Using wet hands, turn out onto a board and divide into 6 pieces. you will need 6 silpat mats, dehydrator sheets or baking paper.
Again with wet hands, form each piece into a ball and flatten out using the palm of your hand in a circular motion until the paste is about 2mm thick. I find it much easier to do it in this way rather than trying to spread with a spatula.
Dehydrate for 3.5 hours at 45ºC (112°F). Check if you can peel the sheet away by flipping the wrap over. If the sheet comes away cleanly, peel off and dehydrate for another 45 minutes to give the other side an airing. If the sheet doesn’t peel away cleanly, leave for another 30 minutes and check.
The finished wraps will be dry but pliable, do not let them dry at the edges as they will crack. You could do these in a very slow oven (65°C) but they will have to be closely monitored.
To assemble the BLAT, take a wrap and layer with a good handful of lettuce, sliced tomato, sour cream and bacon. Roll up and secure with kitchen string or a baking paper collar. I find that 1 filled wrap will make 2 serves easily. They are very filling.
Store the remainder wrapped in baking paper, sealed in a plastic container, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
* Or just sun-dried, but then soak in warm water for 20 minutes & drain. Do not use semi-dried tomatoes – the mix will be too wet.
