I’ve seen lettuce leaves used as ‘tacos’ before in recipes and after trying it in a recipe fell in love! You’ll need to use ‘strong’ lettuce leaves though and I personally love baby gem lettuce.
This recipe is high in protein (thanks to the beef and beans) and with the lettuce leaves tastes incredible. The textures go really well together and overall the dish is really light and refreshing.
I actually served this recipe with homemade sweet potato wedges & an avocado ‘super-food’ salad with salsa & mayo on the side – it was a huge hit with my friends, however you could also serve the mince with ‘real tacos’ for a Mexican feast :).
Mince in Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
- 450g lean mince beef
- 2-4 baby gem lettuces
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tin kidney beans
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Sides: Sweet Potato Wedges* & Salad**
Instructions
- Brown the mince in a frying pan and then drain off any fat (I used 5% mince & so there wasn't any fat to drain!). Add the mince to a bowl for later.
- Spray the pan with cooking oil and add the onions followed by the pepper and fry until soft. Add the mince back to the pan along with the chopped tomatoes & kidney beans and simmer.
- Mix together the salt, herbs and spices before sprinkling into the pan and stirring well. Simmer the beef mix until the liquid has evaporated - around 20 minutes (you don't want soggy lettuce leaves!).
- Serve the mince with baby gem lettuce leaves (pulled apart so they act as tacos) with optional sweet potato wedges/rice and extra salad. Enjoy!
Notes
*To make sweet potato wedges simply slice your sweet potatoes into wedges, coat in olive oil, salt & paprika and bake in the oven on a baking tray for 40 minutes.
**I served this recipe with my avocado super-foods salad.