vegan, gluten-free lettuce wraps with nut 'meat'

vegan, gluten-free, tofu-free and seriously amazing.  you won't miss the meat, I promise.

For the meat mixture, soak 2 cups of raw nuts in water overnight or up to 24 hours. (I used walnuts and almonds, but you can use macadamia, pecans, or any other mildly flavored nut)

Once you have your soaked nuts, start chopping.  You'll want the one part nuts and one part veggies basically minced and the same size.  You can add any vegetables you desire, I've listed what I used below.

• mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
• white or yellow onion
• carrots
• zucchini
• shredded (and then chopped again) cabbage
• water chestnuts
• celery
• scallions
• serranos or other hot chili pepper (I make everything super spicy.  Omit if you want it milder)

Saute everything in a non-stick pan (or with a little coconut oil) until the veggies lose that raw bite.  Then add the sauce.  You can really make up any sauce you want, but the one I used is below:

3 T tamari (or soy sauce if you don't avoid gluten)

2 T chili-garlic paste (or fresh minced garlic and sriracha would have the same affect)

1 t grated fresh ginger

1 t sesame oil

1T mirin

2 T. thai sweet chili sauce (for the sticky sweetness) you can sub pineapple juice, honey, or asian plum sauce.

Cook until the sauce has reduced a bit.  Serve in butter lettuce cups, and top with:

• shredded cucumber & carrot soaked in mirin and tamari or soy sauce. If you wanted to watch the sugar, marinate them in rice vinegar and tamari, and add some stevia for sweetness.
• thai peanut sauce (peanut butter, tamari, coconut milk, lime juice or rice vinegar, scallions and cilantro, and sriracha for spice)
• lots of cilantro and scallions
• bean sprouts
• sprinkling of chia seeds or raw hemp hearts

the best summer lunch or light dinner!  full of fiber, protein and vegetables that won't weigh you down. 

happy chopping

xo

ray