Saucy Southwestern Lettuce Wraps (with smoked cheddar and salted lime cream)
An easy, fast meal that boasts great flavor in a short amount of time. The addition of smoked cheddar creates a great smoky note, but feel free to sub whatever cheese you like (regular sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack, pepper jack, etc).
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 to 1.5 pounds ground meat of your choice
- Cooking oil, as needed
- Salt and pepper, as needed
- 2 Anaheim peppers, seeded and diced (long, mild, light green peppers, poblano can be subbed if you want spicy)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated, divided
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1.5 tablespoons ancho chili powder (or regular)
- 1 chipotle pepper, minced (optional, they’re spicy!)
- 2 teaspoons chicken or beef stock concentrate
- 1 cup grated smoked or regular sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 heart of Romaine lettuce, leaves separated, washed, and dried
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 1 lime
- Crushed tortilla chips, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Add a small amount of cooking oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s good and hot, brown the meat, breaking it up as you do; takes about 5 or 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate for now, draining off any excess fat (for pork or beef; if using ground chicken or turkey, this won’t be necessary).
- Add a little more oil to the pan (a TBSP or so), and with the heat still on med-high, cook the peppers and onion until softened; about 5 minutes. Add â…” of the minced garlic, the cumin, chili powder, chipotle pepper (if using), and the beef stock concentrate. Stir and cook for 30 seconds or so.
- Add ¾ cup water and stir to combine, creating a sauce (you can add more water as needed). Add the cheese, stir to melt it in, and taste/season with salt and pepper and any additional seasonings as you see fit.
- In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, remaining grated garlic, and the juice of ½ the lime. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Serve the saucy, cheesy filling in the lettuce cups, topped with some lime cream and crushed tortilla chips.