Shed winter carbs — embrace lettuce wraps

By Melissa Elsmo OUT OF MEL’S KITCHEN April 24, 2012 9:52AM

Ginger Pork Lettuce Wraps let you shed the weighed-down winter foods. | Melissa Elsmo~for Sun-Times Media

(makes 6 servings)

If you are pressed for time simply sauté the seasoned pork mixture in a non-stick skillet. Place cooked ground meat in the lettuce leaves and top as the recipe indicates.

For the Meatballs:

1 pound Ground pork*

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 Tablespoons red onion, minced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Salt and pepper

For Serving:

12 whole butter lettuce leaves

1/3 cup red pepper, diced

1 cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 carrot, cut into ribbons

1 apple, cut into thin wedges

12 peapods, thinly sliced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1-2 jalapeños or Serranos, thinly sliced (optional)

Soy sauce and a squeeze of lemon

Sweet chili sauce (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together until combined. Using wet hands, form the pork mixture into 18 (1 ½”) meatballs. Place the meatballs on a greased broiler pan and bake for 20 minutes (turning after 10 minutes) or until cooked through.

To serve, place three warm meatballs in the center of two stacked butter lettuce leaves. Garnish with red pepper, cucumber, carrot, apple, peapods, scallions and jalapeno. Add Soy sauce, lemon juice and optional sweet chili sauce and serve. Eat with your hands.

* Ground chicken can be substituted for the pork.

Article Extras

Updated: May 27, 2012 8:19AM

As the weather warms, people look forward to shedding winter coats and jeans in favor of sun dresses and shorts almost as much as I look forward to ditching heavy winter dishes from my weekly dinner rotation in favor of colorful and light menu items.

I love a hearty cold weather roast as much as the next person, but fair weather fare is perfect for quick cook week-night dinners. Introducing copious amounts of raw vegetables and shying away from dense carbohydrates is a sure sign that winter is well behind us. Entrée salads are a welcomed addition to our family table beginning in the spring.

Asian flavors in particular are ideal for waking up winter weary palates, and this simple pork salad is a celebration of contrasting temperatures and textures. Bulgogi, the national dish of Korea, served as the inspiration for this dish and traditionally features expensive beef tenderloin and pungent kimchee.

My streamlined pork meat ball version comes together in a snap by using less expensive and more readily available ingredients, but keeps with tradition by including raw fruit in the garnishes. The addition of slices of sweet and crunchy apple punch up the sweetness of this well-balanced lettuce wrap.

Salad wraps can be customized to suit finicky eaters, but everyone at the table will love this crunchy handheld salad. Feel free to vary the toppings according to your personal tastes. Just be sure to serve this family friendly salad with plenty of napkins!

Melissa Elsmo is an Oak Park mom, wife and chef/foodie. She speaks regularly about reclaiming the family dinner hour with nutritious meals. Check out her food blog at www.outofmelskitchen.blogspot.com.

Quick Kitchen Tip: Carrot Ribbons

Carrot ribbons add texture variety to spring dishes. There is no need to use a fancy tool to create delicate carrot curls; use a standard vegetable peeler to create carrot ribbons suitable for use in this salad or any other.

Peel the carrot to remove the outer skin as you would for any recipe.

Lay the carrot on a cutting board with the flattest side of the carrot facing up.

Pressing slightly harder than normal, drag the peeler from the top of the carrot to the tip.

The resulting ribbon will be about 1/8-inch thick and curl with ease.

Ginger Pork Lettuce Wraps (makes 6 servings)