You’ve been craving lettuce wraps lately, haven’t you? I knew it!
But not anything boring, noooo.
You want something with a lot of crunch, a hint of sweet, a bit of zing and a kiss of tang.
And then we should talk about these lettuce wraps. (BA DOMP.)
I’ve been dying to show you these for like, ever. And by that I mean last week.
Thing is, I’ve had this combo of mint and almonds bumbling around in my noggin for a bit now. Want to do something with mint and almonds. Viciously need me some mint and almonds. Mintandalmondsmintandalmonds.
So I made lettuce wraps! With the mint and almonds. And a lot of other pimp things. As you can clearly see. But I’m going to tell you anyway.
First up, you’ll toast your almonds. Just for like, two minutes in a HAWT, I mean hot skillet. Long to enough for the scent to punch you in the nose and for the almonds to start to brown in spots. Then just pour them into a mini food processor and blitz ’em up! A few pulses is all you’ll need. You want a texture somewhere between almond pebbles and almond gravel. And then you should probably start a band called Almond Gravel.
Since we’re toasting maniacs, let’s throw a couple of ground spices in the hot pan with some oil so that they become super aromatic and it smells like you’re in a tantalizing spice market on the other side of the world.
Coriander and nutmeg sittin’ in a tree . . .
Now it’s getting ril. ^ (just kidding, mom, I’m trying to spell words like the hip kids these days.)
You’ve browned your ground turkey in with the spices. You’ve added chopped zucchini and golden raisins and toasted almond gravel and lemon juice and zest and the minced mint! IT IS ALL THERE.
And I mean, it’s just so dang good. Stir it all together. Add another pinch of salt if ya fancy. The lemon juice obviously brings it all to life. But the mintandalmonds are tremendous together. That whole crunch+pow effect. Right in the kisser. You’ll flip out.
For the lettuce – I went with butter lettuce because a) I like saying “butter lettuce”, and b) they’re PERFECT for wraps or cups like this. Tender, but they definitely hold up. You can always use romaine boats if you can’t find the butter cups. But seek out the butter cups! “They’re wonderful, and brilliant, and we’re getting maaaaaaarried.” (<–name that movie.)
I think these could mos def fall into Taco Tuesday night, right?
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup raw almonds, lightly toasted in a skillet
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1 zucchini, finely chopped
- 3 large sprigs of mint, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, zested
- One head butter lettuce
- Coarse salt
Instructions
- Place the toasted almonds in a small food processor and pulse until you get crumbs. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the coriander and nutmeg and let sizzle and bloom in the pan for 30 seconds. Add the ground turkey and break up with a wooden spoon, browning all over. Add a good pinch of salt. To this mixture, add the minced garlic and diced red onion. Sauté another two to three minutes, until the veggies have started to soften.
- Now add the almond crumbs, golden raisins, diced zucchini, minced mint, lemon zest and juice. Gently toss together and sauté another five minutes, giving the zucchini a chance to soften a tad. You still want crunch! Just not completely raw.
- Scoop the turkey mixture into butter lettuce cups and serve with extra lemon if desired!
- Serves four.
MINTANDALMONDS.
7 Responses to Mediterranean Turkey Lettuce Wraps