Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps

Serves 2-4
(from The Clothes Make the Girl)

 

Ingredients:

The Beef:

• favorite fat for sautéing
• 1/2 onion, diced fine
• 2-3 fresh chili peppers, washed, seeded, and sliced thin
• 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 lb. happy cow ground beef
• a handful of fresh basil leaves (optional)

The Sauce:

• 1/4 cup Sunbutter
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water
• pinch dried ginger

 The Go-Alongs:

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 head lettuce: red, green, butter, or a mix, leaves washed and separated
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• a handful of snap peas, slivered

 

Directions:
1. Prepare the go-along vegetables. Wash and slice the vegetables. Place on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Put in the fridge 'til you're ready to eat.

2. Make the sauce. Place all ingredients in a food processor/blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

3. Make the beef. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of your favorite fat in a sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and peppers, sauté until vegetables are slightly softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the ground beef and crushed garlic. Stir fry until the meat is cooked through. To make it really sing, throw in the basil leaves and cook just until the basil is wilted.

4. Serve and eat! Serve everything family style so your fellow foodies can make their own wraps to order. I like to start with a lettuce leaf, add a few slivers of onion and cucumber and some carrots, then top with the meat mixture, and drizzle that with some of the Sunbutter sauce. Just roll up and eat!

 

My thoughts:  Really yummy even though the first time I made the dish, I totally skipped the go alongs and just chucked the meat on a plate of romaine lettuce and drizzled my sauce over the top.  The second time I made the dish was for company so I went all out and cut up cucumbers and carrots and threw those on top of the romaine lettuce as well. 

I substituted almond butter for the sun butter since I didn't have any but other than that I didn't change much.  I wonder if that changed the flavor a lot of the sauce?  I could definitely taste the almond flavor and since I'm a little burned out on almonds, I didn't really get all excited about it.

 



The first attempt