No judgement – we’ve all been there – but remember those times you had to dig out sorry-looking lettuce leaves from the back of your fridge? (RIP forgotten lettuce. You didn’t deserve to go like that). Well, get ready to kiss those days goodbye because we have discovered THE BEST lettuce recipe going around, courtesy of our lovely friends Alex and Jaimee from one of Sydney’s much-loved local picklery, Cornersmith.

This recipe hails from Cornersmith’s brand new cook book-come-kitchen guide, Use It All. We sat down with Alex and Jaimee to chat all about it, so if you’re wondering what other goodies the book contains – check out that interview here.

Anyway, lettuce cups! Your new favourite mid-week meal! Simple, quick and highly adaptable to your personal tastes, this recipe does the perfect job of using up all your miscellaneous fresh veggies while adding just a touch of spicy punch. Add a protein of your choice and you’ll have a healthy meal on the table with minimal effort.

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The Cornersmith Cooking School is reopening its doors! We are coming back with small, socially distanced groups in two of our most loved classes – Pickling Intensive and Fermenting Vegetables. Book now through our website – places are limited so get in quick! We are starting small as we ease back in after a long hibernation, but we will be offering a broader range of classes in the coming months, so stay tuned and sign up to our mailing list for updates ⭐️

A post shared by Cafe, Cooking School, Pickles (@cornersmith) on Jun 10, 2022 at 10:32pm PDT

CORNERSMITH’S LETTUCE CUPS

Core ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 spring onions (scallions), chopped
2–3 cups (150–225 g) thinly sliced vegetables
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon mirin or dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin
Iceberg or cos (romaine) lettuce cups, to serve
Steamed rice, to serve
Toasted sesame seeds, to serve
Lemon wedges, to serve
Hot sauce or thinly sliced red chilli, to serve

Add-ins:

green beans
carrot
asparagus
zucchini (courgette)
broccoli
capsicum (pepper)
wombok
bok choy

300 g (10½ oz) protein, e.g.:
tofu
left-over cooked fish
free-range minced (ground) pork
poached shredded chicken (page 95)
beef strips

Method:

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat, add the garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for less than 1 minute.

Add the thinly sliced vegetables and salt and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the vegetables are tender but still bright. Remove the vegetables from the wok, then add the protein and stir-fry until browned and cooked through (if using left-over fish or poached chicken, you’ll just need to heat it through). Splash in the mirin or sherry, soy sauce and hoisin. Return the vegetables to the wok and mix through.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with lettuce cups, steamed rice, sesame seeds for sprinkling over, lemon wedges and your choice of hot sauce or chilli and condiments.

Enjoy!

Images and text from ‘Use It All’ by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards

Photography by Cath Muscat

Murdoch Books, $39.99