Crispy Lettuce Wraps with Turkey or Lentils
This recipe is one of the new finds in our repertoire of sort of staples. I have dreamed of these Crispy Lettuce Wraps with Turkey, long before I made them. Now they are a keeper. Since the children liked them so much, I ended up with a veggie version as well. For these blisteringly hot summer days, this is just the kind of dish that will satisfy your cravings and then some.
My Crispy Lettuce Wraps Story
The vegetarian version uses French lentils and mushrooms for dense and satisfying effect. It has been a busy but fulfilling summer, once where I am learning to feel at ease again. The kids have been busy with camp and dance in preparation for their recital. As for me, I have just been watching the weeks go by. We have had their dance teacher, an enthusiastic octogenarian living with us. While she is a lovely and low maintenance guest, it is one more thing to fit into an already busy life.
As we battle this horrid sweltering heat wave, a room temperature dish like this, might just be what the doctor orders. While my meat-loving boy had a distinct preference for the turkey version, I think either of these will work well. Satisfying and great severed at room temperature, they are everything the doctor ordered and more.
So, how has summer been shaping up for you? Have you been cooking or grilling up a storm? Or like me have you just wilted away until the summer weather gets a little gentler? Truth be told, I can never really get away from cooking, but I do temper my enthusiasm just a little when the mercury soars beyond 80. What can I can, I really am a fall and spring kind of person. People like me leave more of summer for people who love it just so much!
A recipe with interesting flavors includes this Soy Maple Tofu.
A lovely recipe that can be done with either ground turkey or lentils for a lovely light summer meal.
Ingredients
- 1 head of bib or butter lettuce with the leaves separated (It is great to have small crisp tended leaves that form delicate cups for the filling)
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1 bunch of scallions thinly sliced with the whites and greens separated
- 2 to 4 green chilies, minced
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup coarsely ground peanuts
- Instead of the turkey add,
- 3/4 cup cooked green lentils
- 1/2 cup chopped shitake mushrooms
- 1 or 2 tablespoons chopped red bell peppers
- 1 or 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the oil and add in the sesame oil.
- Saute the garlic, ginger and scallion whites for about 3 minutes. Stir in the green chilies.
- Add in the turkey or the lentils and mushrooms and mix well.
- Add in the soy sauce, hoisin sauce and the ground peanuts and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is cooked through and dry.
- Mix in the scallion greens.
- Cool the fillings.
- To assemble spoon into the lettuce cups and garnish with the chopped cilantro and red bell peppers and serve as a gorgeous summer meal.