Recipes for a Food Truck – Fast and Fresh

On occasion, I’ve been asked to consult on food truck recipes. I’ve always had a romance with the idea of running my own food truck, but was inevitably scared off by the high-maintenance, cramped work space and surprisingly high costs.

A few years ago, a food truck with a For Sale sign caught my eye. It looked very unused and unmoved from its parking spot, with a baguette painted on the side signifying that it once served French food. We called the number and a recorded message told us that it was available, complete with recipes, for $60,000. That seemed a little steep for a pipe dream and a fixer-upper truck. It is a dream for many: My parents often said that when they retired they would travel and sell hot dogs from a truck. My father passed in 2003 truck-less, and mother is still with us at age 93 but still no hot dog truck. And for others it is a reality that involves a lot of hard work, heat and cramped quarters with delicious and, hopefully, financially rewarding results.

But back to recipes for a food truck. The complexity of a full French kitchen may be biting off more than a food truck should chew — or any cuisine, for that matter, requiring multiple pots and pans simmering on the stove top and full complements of spices and condiments. Healthy, simple hand food is the way. My dream truck started with a foundation of Mediterranean fare: chicken schwarma, hummus, tabouleh and a fattoush salad. Then I would add some Mexican quick foods such as guacamole and a basic chicken burrito.

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The recipes for chicken shwarma and fattoush salad were provided to FFA by our dear friend Monica Dallo Ambs, who was born in Iraq and fled the country in the 1970s as a teenager along with her family. She came to the U.S. to seek a life of freedom apart from the fear of dangerous government reprisals that were common in Iraq at the time. I recall many an hour in pleasant conversation watching her prepare the recipes she learned from her mother of delicious Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food in her kitchen in West Bloomfield, Michigan, without a recipe, in ease and confidence as we caught up on each other’s lives.

Chicken Shwarma

Serves 4

• 3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into largish cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 6 pita breads
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes
• Dill pickles. sliced

Mix chicken, mustard, garlic and seasonings together in a medium sized bowl and let marinate for at least 3 hours. Place chicken on skewers, coat with olive oil and grill them. Slice the grilled meat and serve stuffed in a pita (with or without a dill pickle) with shredded lettuce and sliced tomato. Serve with hummus and tabouleh or a fattoush salad on the side (recipes below!).

Recipes for a Food Truck – Fattoush Salad

Serves 8

• 2 Romaine lettuces
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 2 scallions
• 1 pita bread round
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 lemons, juiced
• Fresh mint
• Salt to taste

Wash, dry and slice romaine horizontally from the core into 1 inch slices. Dice tomatoes, green pepper and scallions. Toss in bowl. Take pita bread and brush with a tablespoon of olive oil and microwave or grill for two minutes. It will be crispy. Break it over the top of the salad. Chop several leaves of fresh mint and sprinkle over the salad to your taste. For the dressing: mix lemon juice, a teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss salad with dressing. This is a refreshing salad and you might add chicken shwarma to make it more of a meal.

Recipes for a Food Truck – Hummus

Serves 4

• One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drain and set aside liquid.
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 medium-sized peeled and crushed garlic clove, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle on top at serving time
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• Black or Greek olives, depending on your taste

Combine all ingredients in a strong, fast blender, such as a Vitamix or Ninja, for approximately 1 minute until all lumps are gone, until the consistency is like butter. (You might need to add some of the bean liquid to smooth the blend.) The blending will heat up the hummus and make it even more delicious if you serve it right away, when it is warm, with some pita. Pour into a shallow serving plate and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few olives strewn over the top. Or, schmear it in a flour tortilla or pita along with the tabbouleh, shown next, for a refreshing vegetarian sandwich. This recipe appears with other great recipe ides in my post about game-day snacks!

Recipes for a Food Truck – Tabbouleh

Serves 4

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• 4 oz. bulgur wheat or quinoa, if you are gluten-free
• Juice of 4 lemons
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 seeded, diced tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small cucumber, partially peeled, and diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 bunch of scallions. diced
• 1 bunch parsley, thoroughly washed, chopped and wrung dry in a clean dishtowel
• 1 bunch of mint, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized bowl combine the bulgur, lemon juice and oil. Mix well. (If you are using quinoa, follow cooking directions on the package and let cool.) Add the rest of the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Toss well. Refrigerate until the bulgur softens. If you are using quinoa, you can serve your tabbouleh right away. Use tabbouleh as a side dish for chicken schwarma or as a main dish in a pita or flour tortilla as a vegetarian sandwich/roll up.

Recipes for a Food Truck – Guacamole

Serves 4

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• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or 1 tsp dried
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice of a lime
• Chile powder and cumin to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mash avocado and add the rest of the ingredients and combine. I used up some leftover corn tortillas and cooked them in a bit of sunflower oil, salted them and then served them with the guac. Enjoy!

Recipes for a Food Truck – Chicken Burrito

Serves 4

• 1 cup warm cooked rice
• 1, 14 oz. can black beans, drained, rinsed, partially crushed and mixed with a 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, warmed
• 1/4 cup guacamole
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup salsa of your choice
• 2, boneless chicken breasts, sprinkled with cumin and chipotle Chile powder, salt and pepper
• 4 large flour tortillas, warmed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Coat chicken breasts with olive oil and grill until cooked through. Slice the cooked chicken into four bite-sized portions. Build burrito by forming a ribbon of a 1/4 cup of cooked rice down the center of the tortilla; next, layer with 1/4 cup of the black beans, and then top that with 1/4 cup of the grilled chicken meat. Smear a tablespoon of the sour cream, a tablespoon of guac and a tablespoon of the salsa in a ribbon running alongside both sides of the center filling. Roll up and serve.