Lettuce wraps offer variety of tastes for a quick bite

With all the activities around holiday preparations, meal planning can be a challenge. Do you cook for the family, only to learn that your children were treated to cookies at school or your spouse attended an office potluck at lunchtime? Between open houses and neighborhood gatherings, it can be daunting to have a meal at the ready, especially if it turns out your family isn’t hungry at dinnertime.

One of the things I like to keep on hand are pre-cooked or ready-to-cook items. One is a mixture of ground chicken or beef, seasoned with Asian or Mexican spices. These can stay in the refrigerator for up to a week and only require a simple reheating. To make it even easier, I would serve this in lettuce wraps, instead of boiling a pot of rice.

The best lettuces to use for wraps are those with rounded leaves and without sturdy center ribs. Outer leaves of an iceberg head are too big and floppy, but I used some of the inner leaves for the ones in the photo. Romaine leaves are much too stiff, but looseleaf or bunching varieties work well. Better choices are Bibb, also known as Boston or butterhead lettuce. For a more aggressively flavored wrap, consider purple-hued radicchio or pale-green endive.

Lettuce is a member of the sunflower or aster family of plants and has been cultivated for centuries. Ancient Egyptians are believed to be the first to harvest lettuce, using the seeds to produce oil and eventually the leaves for food. The Roman name for lettuce (lactuca) contains the Latin word for milk, a reference to the milky substance the leaves exude when cut. 

Prior to the sophisticated transportation networks we have today, lettuce would only be available in local markets near the farms that produced it. Unfortunately, chilling and packaging techniques have been developed to allow lettuce distributors to reach supermarket shelves around the globe. For my table, the freshest, best-tasting lettuce comes from local growers.

Because lettuce is prized for its tender leaves, growing conditions and timing are critical. Instead of allowing them to reach maturity and produce flowers (at which point their leaves have become bitter and inedible), the heads are harvested within a few months of planting. Their high water content (almost 95 percent) means lettuce must be eaten fresh; it can’t be frozen or canned.

The dish in the photo is more accurately called a lettuce cup, as the leaf is left open instead of closed around the contents until you pick it up to eat it. This dish required a few brief moments of stovetop cooking to brown the beef before adding the sauce mix. A combination of toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and a splash of fish sauce contributes the perfect amount of spicy heat to help your mouth appreciate the crisp, cool lettuce leaf.

Each of the Asian sauces contributes something different to the flavor profile of the finished product. Toasted sesame oil is warm, mellow and a bit nutty; it can be used as a finishing oil or to sauté vegetables. Tangy rice wine vinegar is both tart and slightly sweet. Hoisin sauce is made from fermented soybeans and adds a rich, sweet complexity. Fish sauce, made from fermented fish and krill, is dark and quite thick with salty notes. With its multidimensional flavor, soy sauce adds extra umami and salt.

Alternatively, you can assemble a mixture that features Mexican flavors with a sauce based on cumin and chili powder in a tomato base. I’ve included recipes for both versions. If you choose to make them, be sure to have the sauce ingredients ready near your stovetop when you begin to cook.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

In a small bowl, whisk together hoisin, soy, vinegar, and sesame oil; set aside. Place the meat or poultry in a nonstick skillet and cook over medium, crumbling it into small pieces as it browns. Sprinkle with garlic and ginger; pour in the sauce and cook until bubbling. Serve spoonfuls of the mixture in lettuce leaves; garnish with sesame seeds. Yield: 4 to 6 servings. *Note: you can select ground beef, chicken, or turkey.

Mexican Lettuce Wraps

1 lb ground beef or poultry*
1 T olive oil
1 T chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1 t paprika
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t oregano
pinch salt
pinch cinnamon
2 T tomato paste
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 C vegetable broth
salt & pepper, to taste
Peeled, chopped avocado

Place the meat or poultry in a nonstick skillet and cook over medium, crumbling it into small pieces as it browns. Once there are no traces of pink, remove from heat and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium. Stir in chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add salt, cinnamon, tomato paste and vinegar; stir to combine. Pour in vegetable broth and cook until smooth, stirring often. Pour the sauce into the skillet over browned meat or poultry and cook until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve spoonfuls of the mixture in lettuce leaves. Garnish with avocado. Yield: 4 to 6 servings. *Note: you can select ground beef, chicken or turkey.

SIDEBAR

For those of you who recall my column about amaranth this past summer, I would like to introduce you to the grower, Taieshia Hyacinth of Caribe Locavore Farm LLC. She will be back again next season at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market, where she will share her extensive knowledge and delicious produce.