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Assemble-at-Work Lettuce Leaf Wraps

by Caroline Craig & Sophie Missing from The Little Book of Lunch

After a light and easy lunch for work? These simple lettuce wraps from The Little Book of Lunch are perfect for summer lunchtimes and are really versatile.

From the book

Caroline Craig, Sophie Missing

Introduction

One of the most pleasing things about this recipe is how versatile it is: leftover scraps of chicken, beef or prawns all work well. Iceberg lettuce is best though – you want the lettuce leaves to be large-ish but firm and crunchy. Little gem lettuce would be a good alternative, although your wraps will be slightly smaller. Perfect for a lunch eaten on the grass on a sunny summer day.

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Ingredients

3 spring onions, chopped
12 raw prawns (you could use a handful of leftover chicken/beef/pork instead of prawns)
small handful mint leaves
small handful basil leaves
4 radishes, sliced
2 large iceberg lettuce leaves (discard the outermost leaves) washed and dried torn in half. If using little gem use 4 leaves
For the dressing:
25ml rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1/2 red chilli

Method

In the morning: Put a pan on a high heat and add the spring onions and prawns. Cook for 4 minutes, then remove from the heat. While cooling, line a Tupperware with a piece of kitchen paper, then add the prawns to it (or leftover meat if this is what you are using). Add your mint, basil, radishes and lettuce leaves to a separate Tupperware, being careful not to break the lettuce.

Add the vinegar, chilli sauce and chopped chilli to a clean jam jar and checking the lid is securely fastened, give it a good shake to amalgamate.

Come lunchtime: Smugly get out your Tupperware. Using either your hands (make sure you have a few napkins) or actual cuterly if you had it, add 6 (or 3 if using little gem) prawns, some charred spring onions, radish slices and herbs into the curved middle of the leaf, taking care not to overload it, then drizzle a splash of the dressing over the top. Fold either side of the bare leaf over the middle, so that you make a sort of lettuce fajita, and eat immediately before the dressing escapes and drips all over you. Repeat until everything is used up.

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