Wrap recipe ideas for your lunch box

Wraps belong to a family of ingredients that inexplicably make things taste better than they should (see also: the savoury pancake, and a crisp layer of filo pastry over anything). Their beauty lies in their versatility. Unlike the classic sandwich, the wrap is all‑embracing, and as happy being a vessel for hot food as it is holding leftovers, herby salads, or traditional meat and pickle fillings.

Unlike pre-sliced bread, which feels like it could survive into the next century, wraps need to be used fairly quickly once opened, so buy a pack at the beginning of the week and mix your fillings up each day according to what you have leftover from dinner or in your storecupboard. Do: assemble at work if you can, as wraps are prone to sogginess. Don’t: overstuff it so it won’t close – a rookie wrapping error. Here are some suggestions:

Tuna, red onion, capers and tomato is a fail-safe. Cherry tomatoes add a nice sweetness and juice to this mix. Use plenty of black pepper and a decent amount of mayo, and bulk it out with crunchy sliced little gem.

Try a take on the veggie summer roll: mint and coriander leaves with a little chilli, then radish, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage and cucumber. Bring a small jar of rice wine vinegar, lime juice and sesame oil for drizzling. Trust us, you don’t need any meat with this (should you want something extra, you could add a small handful of cooked prawns).

Should you have a salmon fillet for dinner one evening, cook an extra one, and enjoy it in your wrap the next day: flake it into skinless chunks, and have with julienne-grated (or sliced into batons), celeriac mixed with creme fraiche, 1-2 tsp of dijon mustard, a hearty squeeze of lemon, salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Transport in separate containers, refrigerating the fish, and top with fresh dill before wrapping up.

Give leftover roast veg (aubergine, pepper, courgette, carrot or onion) a spicy kick by mixing it with 1 tsp of jarred harissa. Some tinned chickpeas or butter beans would be a fine addition to the mix. Top with dollops of yoghurt, and a squeeze of chilli sauce for an extra kick.

Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing are authors of The Little Book of Lunch (Square Peg)