The Captain's Table

Tales and recipes from my kitchen.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

That's a Wrap

The perfect looking butter lettuce I saw at the grocery store screamed "lettuce wraps!" I had some ground beef and a few odds and ends, but the direction I took was decided by the garden. Fresh cilantro, basil, Thai bird chilies, poblano peppers, they all went into a southeast Asianesque concoction that even the munchkin liked.

3/4 lb ground beef
2 poblano peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 large coves of garlic, minced
1" ginger, finely minced or grated
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
juice of 1/2 lime
1 bunch of basil (Thai basil would have been better)
a few sprigs of mint (I had chocolate mint - good stuff)
butter lettuce leaves for wrapping
chopped cilantro for garnish
to spice it up: Thai chili peppers in fish sauce
served with steamed white rice

The kid-friendly filling had no spice at all except whatever the poblano peppers had, which today was nothing at all. Brown and drain the ground beef, set aside. In the same pan with some of the drippings, fry the onions and peppers until tender. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until aromatic. Add the beef back in, add the sauce, oil, and juice, stir. Add the basil and mint and cook until it is all wilted. Done!

Put a spoonful into a lettuce leaf, top with chopped cilantro and a drizzle of the chili fish sauce. Add rice to the wrap or have it on the side.