Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps

A friend of mine posted this recipe on the now abandoned August Cooks blog, and I've really loved it for ages, though haven't made it since last summer.

Lime, sriracha, jalapeno, shallots, brown sugar, fish sauce... This recipe hits all the right notes, sweet, spicy, salty, sour. Amped up with some pickled carrots (leftover from a batch based on Gwyneth Paltrow's recipe) and cucumber, these wraps are pretty much heaven on a plate for me.

What I love most about it is how messy they are! Be prepared for dripping juices.

Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps

(adapted from August Cooks)

Ingredients

½ tbsp canola oil
1 lb ground pork
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium shallot, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
juice of one lime
1½ tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp sriracha

pickled carrots
sliced cucumber
washed, separated leaves boston or bibb lettuce (about 12-16)
handfuls of chopped fresh mint, cilantro and basil

Directions

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add pork, garlic, shallot and jalapeno. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is browned and fat is rendered. Drain fat from pan. Return to heat, reducing temperature to low while preparing the lime mixture.

2. Mix together lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar and sriracha. Pour over pork. Return heat to medium and stir until liquid has mostly been absorbed. Remove skillet from element.

3. Using lettuce as a cup, place some carrots and cucumbers inside, then top with a couple tablespoons pork mixture. Sprinkle herbs over top, and repeat with remaining lettuce leaves and pork.

Serves 3-4.

Another Soba Bowl: Marinated Tofu, Mixed Greens and Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut Pesto

Over the last weekend, while doing our weekly clean, my husband and I finally put away our winter boots. April had been so cold and wet, I just kept holding off on putting away the boots, but it seems like now, maybe, just maybe it's time to pack it all away.

Yesterday's pesto got me thinking. Along with the winter boots, mitts and jackets, it also feels like it's time to put away the cast iron dutch oven and to get out the salad spinner.

It's spring and I feel like eating my weight in vegetables.

Also, I'm in a wedding this summer AND going back to Hawaii and a man wished me a happy mother's day as an expectant mother last Saturday, which tells me that the belly fat has got to go because I'm not even vaguely pregnant.

Not hot.

And, what better way of plowing through some delicious greens than doing that than another gigantic vegetable-noodle bowl?

Tamari Marinated Tofu

(from More.ca)

Ingredients

1 block tofu, cut horizontally into 8 pieces, each piece then cut diagonally into triangles.
3/4 cup tamari
½ cup apple cider vinegar (I love the Eden organics brand)
¼ cup water
1½ tsp canola oil

Directions

1. Mix together all liquid ingredients in a non-reactive container (I used a glass container with a lid), then layer in the tofu. Cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days. Obviously, the longer you let it sit, the more marinade the tofu will absorb.

2. Grill tofu for 1-2 minutes per side.

Easy as pie... erm... tofu.

I like this served with soba noodles that have been tossed with the Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut pesto, topped with steamed broccoli, rainbow chard, bok choi and bean sprouts. A tablespoon each of cashews and toasted pumpkin seeds pumps up the crunch.

Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut Pesto

I don't think I should be calling this pesto at all, but to simply call it sauce seems to do it a disservice. I came up with this recipe as the companion to another of my Fresh inspired noodles bowls. It's bright and herbal, with lots of room for adaptation.

I wanted something slightly Thai inspired, but without the heat. This is creamy, smooth and would be so great as a counterpart to a spicy summer roll or dolloped on top of a curry for contrast. YUM.

Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut Pesto

Ingredients

2/3 cup dry roasted, unsalted cashews
½ cup light coconut milk
juice of one lime
1 large handul cilantro
1 large handful basil leaves
1 tbsp tamari (or Thai fish sauce, if you're not concerned about keeping it vegetarian)
¼ cup water

(suggested add ins: 1 garlic clove, a spoonful of green curry paste, minced lemongrass, minced serrano pepper if you want some heat)

Directions

1. Pulse all ingredients except water in a food processor until think. Add water, 1 tbsp at a time until mixture reaches desired consistency.

Now, that was easy, wasn't it? Serve with noodles, if you like.

The pesto on soba noodles. Yum!

Carrot and Cilantro Fritters

I'm definitely having one of those weeks where, in the kitchen anyway, things are not going entirely to plan. We'd bought some Rowe Farms marinated chicken legs and threw them out thanks to a super strong funky fish smell.

Last time I checked, chicken should not smell like fish. Not amused, Rowe Farms, not amused.

So, we were left with my planned side dish: carrot cilantro fritters.

Remember how I was complaining the other day about my lack of photographic ability? I don't know that any photographer could have salvaged what these fritters looked like. I made two key mistakes early on. I started cooking before the oil was hot enough and then, I didn't let the first few get enough of a crust on the bottom. Consequently they ended up looking like... well... like a carrot slaw exploded all over the frying pan.

Having confessed that much, the mess was still delicious to eat, so I decided to keep trying to cook the fritters up.

I'm glad I did too, because, by the end of the whole traumatic experience (the kitchen still stank of that horrible fishy-chicken smell), I'd gotten the hang of it, fixed my mistakes (and tweaked the recipe) and was happily nomming away on the freshly cooked fritters as they popped out of the pan.

No more carrot slaw explosion.

Note: If you're not the patient type, do not attempt this recipe. You need to drop the food in and then leave it alone. I can't emphasize this enough. If you're like me and like moving stuff around in the pan and checking it every couple of minutes or so, this recipe will not work for you. You have to let these get a good, solid crust on before even thinking of flipping them over.

Carrot and Cilantro Fritters

(again, from good ol'Nigel)

Ingredients
2 large carrots, coarsely grated
½ small onion, finely grated
a hunk of strong cheddar (I used about 3 oz of Dubliner Irish cheddar), grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
2 heaping tbsp flour
1 palmful cilantro, chopped (if cilantro isn't your thing, use chervil or parsley instead)
neutral flavoured oil for frying

Directions

1. Squeeze excess liquid from carrots and onion, then mix together with cheese, egg, flour, cilantro, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Batter should be thick and not runny.

2. Pour enough oil into a large, cast iron skillet to coat the base. Heat over medium-low. Oil is ready when you drop a test bit of carrot-batter in and a crust is created on one side in 3-4 minutes.

3. Drop heaping tablespoon amounts of the carrot batter into the frying pan 2-3 at a time. Let brown on one side for about 4 minutes. Do not attempt to move these babies before they've had the time to develop that crust. Once the crust is formed, gently flip over and fry for 3-4 more minutes. Remove from pan and let drain on a paper towel. Serve as they pop out of the pan.

A great meal for two of you standing around in the kitchen, drinking wine.