mint — Recipes — Prospect Heights CSA

A recipe from CSA member Madi!

(Vegan) Ginger & Lime Lettuce Wraps
I am a huge fan of butterhead lettuce, and so I was stoked to receive a head of it in our last share. I made these delicious vegan lettuce wraps — you could, of course, opt for ground pork/chicken/beef, however, I had some Impossible Beef on hand at home and figured I’d give it a whirl. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
-1 lb ground meat, or vegan meat
-1 small white onion, diced
-3-5 cloves garlic, minced
-1-2 inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced (I went heavy on the ginger)
-Bunch of green onions***, sliced
-1 head of butterhead lettuce***
-1 lime
-1 tbs neutral oil
-Tender herbs (basil, mint, cilantro) to top
-For the sauce: Soy sauce, sriracha, hoisin, rice wine vinegar (all to taste - find your perfect sweet/spicy balance)

Recipe:
1. Heat skillet at medium heat. Crumble vegan meat into a skillet, and brown for 5-8 minutes. Remove meat from the pan once browned to your liking, and set aside in a small bowl.
2. Add diced onions and minced garlic to the skillet, with a bit of neutral oil, and cook until fragrant.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine a few splashes of soy sauce, sriracha, sweet chili paste or hoisin, and rice wine vinegar.
4. Add sauce and ginger to the onions in the skillet, and mix to combine.
5. Toss sliced green onions, your crumbled meat, sesame seeds, and the squeeze of 1 juicy lime into the skillet, and warm all together for a minute or two.
6. Spoon mixture onto your butterhead pieces, drizzle with more hot sauce, and top w/ either basil or cilantro, if desired!

From member Cara McAteer: The return of chilly weather this weekend brought to mind a fast and easy recipe from the New York Times cooking page for a chickpea stew that I had in heavy rotation last fall. Several ingredients from this week’s share will go nicely in it. I got onions this week and also young ginger which I think will be even better than regular ginger root in this stew. The bunch of kale that I received will be the greens. The recipe calls for red pepper flakes but the hot peppers from my share will make a more flavorful substitute. Instead of garnishing with mint as the recipe calls for, I will garnish with the cilantro from my share. To make this a heartier meal, I usually serve it over quinoa.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for serving
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 (15-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 bunch Swiss chard, kale or collard greens, stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup mint leaves, for serving
Yogurt, for serving (optional)
Toasted pita, lavash or other flatbread, for serving (optional)

PREPARATION

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large pot over medium. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent and starts to brown a little at the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric, 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, and the chickpeas, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, so the chickpeas sizzle and fry a bit in the spices and oil, until they’ve started to break down and get a little browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove about a cup of chickpeas and set aside for garnish.

Using a wooden spoon or spatula, further crush the remaining chickpeas slightly to release their starchy insides. (This will help thicken the stew.) Add coconut milk and stock, and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits that have formed on the bottom of the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until stew has thickened, 30 to 35 minutes. (Taste a chickpea or two, not just the liquid, to make sure they have simmered long enough to be as delicious as possible.) If after 30 to 35 minutes, you want the stew a bit thicker, keep simmering until you've reached your desired consistency.

Add greens and stir, making sure they’re submerged in the liquid. Cook until they wilt and soften, 3 to 7 minutes, depending on what you’re using. (Swiss chard and spinach will wilt and soften much faster than kale or collard greens.) Season again with salt and pepper.

Divide among bowls and top with mint, reserved chickpeas, a sprinkle of red-pepper flakes and a good drizzle of olive oil. Serve alongside yogurt and toasted pita if using; dust the yogurt with turmeric if you'd like.