Lettuce All Have Lettuce!


Lettuce wraps are nothing new. I think my first experience with them was probably at PF Chang’s in some random city. I thought it was a great idea then; I think it’s a great idea now. How easy, put bite sized food in a makeshift “taco” shell that’s just a piece of lettuce.

I get home about 7:45pm each night and usually head straight to the kitchen to start whipping up dinner (preliminary beer/cocktail is a must.). I know, not the healthiest time to eat, but I’ve got to work with what I have. I’m usually pretty hungry by that time and strive to make something quick, but still cool and unique. I really try to stay away from carbs at night because I find that I don’t need the energy they provide when I’m only a few hours away from sleep. (Hint: Can’t sleep, don’t eat carbs before bed!)

With lettuce wraps, the first cuisine I think of is Asian, but only by default because I first saw this at an Asian place. However, most any other cuisine will work. Mexican and Indian work brilliantly well too. (Yes, I know Indian is a part of Asia, humor me.) A couple of nights ago, Kelly made lettuce wraps filled with chicken in the most amazing Indian inspired sauce she found at Fresh Market. Lettuce wraps are great for leftovers too, just cut everything to size.

The lettuce I prefer for wraps is straight up Iceberg. It’s really sturdy, comes in big pieces and has a high crunch factor. Hearts of Romaine work really well too. Green leaf lettuce looks pretty, but I find that the leaves don’t hold up to any type of wet filling. This brings me to another point, unless you like wiping down your arm every few seconds, try not to ‘juice out’ your filling. Keep it on the drier side.

With meat/fish/poultry and veggies always on hand, I pull out my sauté pan or my wok and start cooking. I make sure to cut everything up to a size most conducive to filling a taco/ lettuce shell. Plus, who doesn’t love tacos? I love eating with my hands. There’s something so primal about doing so, it always brings a smile to my face. Once everything is cooked, put the filling in a big bowl, separate the lettuce leaves on another plate, assemble any other accoutrements and dig in.

As I said earlier, most any food works as a filling, from meat and fish, to sautéed vegetables, to fruit, they all work really well in a lettuce wrap. Plus it helps to keep dinner on the lighter side. Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN said yesterday morning that a healthy way of eating was to “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” It makes perfect sense to eat this way because people need most of their energy at the start of the day as opposed to the end of it. Do you fill up your car after a long trip, or before?

Ciao down,
Penn

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