By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

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Winning taco recipe has
exotic Mediterranean flair

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Thanks to April Tolman's handiness with a tortilla, she and her family are at Disneyland in California this week.

Tolman is one of 20 grand-prize winners in the Mission Foods "What's in Your Tortilla?" recipe contest. Her recipe for Mediterranean Soft Tacos was chosen from among 4,000 entries as worthy of a top prize -- a Disneyland vacation.

Tolman moved to Hawaii from Utah two years ago and is now raising two boys with her husband in Manoa. She'd never entered a recipe contest before, but read about this one on a tortilla box. She says she tried the dish just twice before writing up the recipe.

It's a good time to bring out this recipe, what with the Super Bowl coming up on Sunday. You can put out all the fixings and let everyone stack their own tortillas while watching the game. And while it's not a hard dish to fix, it is quite a cut above chip-and-dip fare, which should impress your guests.

Mediterranean Soft Tacos

4 lamb sirloin chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
10 flour soft-taco tortillas
1 cup prepared hummus
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup sliced black olives
>> Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon crushed coriander
>> Tomato/Cucumber Salsa:
4 large Roma tomatoes
1 small cucumber
1 small onion
1 large green bell pepper
1 tablespoon EACH lime and lemon juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine marinade ingredients and marinate lamb, refrigerated, 6 to 24 hours.

Broil meat 3 to 4 inches from heat, 12 to 15 minutes, turning halfway. Slice into cubes.

To make salsa: Chop vegetables. Combine with remaining ingredients; refrigerate.

Spread each tortilla with hummus and fill with lamb. Garnish with spinach, cheese, olives and salsa.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per taco: 590 to 630 calories, 33 to 39 g total fat, 13 to 14 g saturated fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 960 mg sodium, 44 g carbohydrate, 28 g protein.*

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.