Paleo Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps

I decided to post a little early, while this dinner is still fresh in my mind! 

Paleo Asian Beef Lettuce Wrap (Serves 2 pretty hungry blokes)

Prep/cook time is about 25 minutes.

You’ll need:

1lb beef (preferably grass-fed)

About ½ cup finely chopped onion

2 large petals (NOT whole cloves) garlic, minced nice and small

½ tsp Ginger (dry, ground)

2 tbs Sesame oil

Salt and pepper

2 medium yellow squash, ends cut off, grated in the smaller part of the cheese grater.  You should wind up with a big juicy yellow pile of squash noodles.  (It's a good replacement for rice because it is moist and tender, and will bring a nice texture to your lettuce wrap stuffing.)

3 baby bella mushrooms, diced very small

1 ½ tsp arrowroot starch

1 head lettuce, rinsed and toweled dry

Heat your skillet to medium, and pour about 2 tsp sesame oil in once it’s hot (if you let oil sit in a hot pan too long, it will start to burn and smoke up the kitchen.. ew!).  Start to cook up your beef, onions and garlic, using a spatula to chop beef up nice and small as it cooks.  Once the beef is cooked about half way, add the squash (don’t transfer the juice to the pan) and the mushrooms.  Season it all generously with salt and pepper, but moderately with ginger.  Stir well.  Then, sprinkle in the arrowroot starch evenly over the whole mixture, and stir in.  As the beef and veggies release juices, the starch will soak them up, so you don’t have to drain anything before serving.  Continue to use the spatula to chop up the beef and stir everything, so you get a nice smooth consistency, until the beef is all well browned.  When done, eat the wraps like fajitas, spooning a small amount into your lettuce leaves. 

A few side-notes:

1.  We (hubby and I) served this with baked sweet potatoes dressed with a little coconut butter and cinnamon (YUM), but you can pair it with pretty much anything.  Just the wraps for dinner is not enough carbohydrate, so be sure to have some other veggies on the side. 

2. A mistake people often make with recipes is following them to the “T”.  I tried that once with an Emeril recipe… “A quarter cup of salt?  Four tablespoons of Cajun seasoning? Sure, why not!”  That’s a NO-GO, soldier! The final product was way too salty and way too spicy!  The solution?  Always taste your food as the cooking process goes on.  You can often eyeball the right amount of seasonings, and hey, if it needs some more pepper, add some more pepper!  Make the recipe your own.

Until tomorrow,  ¡buen provecho!

-C.E.