TL/DR – Lemon Herb Lettuce Cups. An easy weeknight meal low in carbs and high in flavor. Fresh oregano is called for, but any fresh herb will work. –
Sometimes it’s fun to pretend like you’re at a restaurant. In the middle of what are (hopefully,) the worst days of our global pandemic, I’m craving any food that’s not my food. I think about things like lettuce cups. I never make those!
This recipe was born out of that restaurant craving… specifically for crispy brown pork. Ground turkey works, too. (I settled for half and half.) Crispy browned pork and turkey with lots of garlic, lemon zest, onion and fresh oregano. Not everyone loves oregano, so this works with pretty much any fresh herb. Try basil, sage, or parsley. Should you add chives? Yes.
Start by preheating an oven to 425 degrees F, peeling and small-dicing a sweet potato and spreading it on a baking sheet with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes.
As the sweet potato works its magic, process onion, garlic, fresh oregano, lemon zest and a bit of olive oil in a food processor until pretty finely minced. Set aside 1/3 of this mixture.
Brown ground pork and ground turkey in a bit more olive oil, then add the remainder of the processed onion-garlic-herb mixture. Allow it to cook for a couple of minutes and then hit it with either white wine or white wine vinegar. Cover the skillet and lower the heat and allow it to cook until the meat is thoroughly done.
Combine the onion-garlic-herb mixture set aside from earlier with sour cream. Wash and pat dry either Boston, butter or iceberg lettuce leaves. Assemble each lettuce cup with a small spoonful of the cooked meat, a small spoonful of roasted sweet potato and a dollop of the sour cream mixture.
For another low-carb, easy weeknight meal, try Lamb and Hummus Stuffed Peppers.
Lemon Herb Lettuce Cups
A low carb, flavorful and easy weeknight meal. Swap the pork out and use all ground turkey to cut down on calories.
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes.
- 3 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 t kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 t pepper, divided
- 1/4 c minced oregano or other fresh herb
- 1/4 c minced onion
- 1 clove minced garlic
- zest of one lemon
- 8 oz ground turkey
- 8 oz ground pork, or use all ground turkey if you prefer.
- Splash of white wine or white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Boston, butter or iceberg lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Step 2 Spread the sweet potato cubes on a baking sheet, coat in 1 T olive oil, 1/4 t kosher salt and 1/8 t pepper. Roast for about 20 – 25 minutes.
- Step 3 While the sweet potatoes roast, place the onions, garlic, oregano or other fresh herb, lemon zest and 1 T olive oil in a small food processor and process until the pieces are relatively tiny, about 30 seconds to a minute. Reserve 1/3 of this mixture in a small bowl. (Alternately, just mince the onions, garlic, herbs and lemon zest together until very finely minced and then add the olive oil.)
- Step 4 In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 T olive oil on high. Brown the turkey and the pork on both sides, sprinkling with 1/2 t kosher salt and 1/8 t pepper.
- Step 5 After the meat has browned, lower the heat to medium, add the 2/3 onion mixture to the skillet and stir frequently for about a minute.
- Step 6 Lower the heat to medium-low, splash about 1 T white wine vinegar or white wine into the pan, cover, and allow to cook for about 4 minutes or until the meat is thoroughly cooked through.
- Step 7 Add the sour cream to the reserved onion mixture in the small bowl, add about 1/8 t kosher salt and stir well.
- Step 8 Assemble each lettuce cup with a spoonful of the meat mixture, a spoonful of sweet potatoes and a dollop of the sour cream sauce.
