Lettuce explore this leafy green goodness

I made the mistake of stopping at a gas station convenience store for lunch last week. The exact nature of my error was that I did not order some variety of fried chicken, the specialty of this particular chain of fast-food and fuel-pump sites. Hoping for the best, I selected a turkey lettuce-wrap. 
Unfolding the paper around my "wrap" I discovered one slice of turkey and a thin tomato sliver inside a single leaf of wilted iceberg lettuce. No condiments, no seasonings and no flavor. I would have been better off at the supermarket deli counter asking for a sample slice of turkey to test its thickness before ordering a half pound to take home. 

If you've ever been to a Chinese restaurant and ordered lettuce wraps, you're familiar with the spicy mixture of ground pork or chicken served with a piquant dipping sauce and an array of crunchy Bibb lettuce leaves. I love a lunch of lettuce wraps filled with salad - such as tuna, egg or chicken - and have learned there is a technique to selecting the lettuce as well as the filling. 

Since there are basically four types of lettuce, the choice is straightforward. Do not opt for head lettuce, the most familiar of which is iceberg. Its tight, round head is made of leaves too thin and fragile to hold anything. Leaf lettuce isn't right because the randomly shaped leaves are too irregular and spiky to hold anything.


Your best choice is butterhead lettuce, which has a loosely formed head of thick, regular, ruffle-edged leaves with a prominent rib down the center. They are easily separated and have the strength to fold around a filling.

The final type of lettuce has an interesting backstory. Cos lettuce was named after the Greek island on which the Romans discovered heads of long, erect leaves. Because of its popularity in Rome, it became known as Romaine, after the city in which the elite members of society added a "lettuce course" to their meals. 

Younger heads of Romaine lettuce had leaves tender enough to eat raw; the Romans served these dressed with a heated vinaigrette. If the lettuce was older and tougher, the leaves would be poached and then covered with oil and vinegar. 

While you might consider using Romaine for a lettuce-wrap dish, I find the leaves will snap rather than bend around a filling. Reach for small heads of Bibb or Boston with fresh, green, unblemished outer leaves. Keep the filling slightly on the dry side to avoid the risk of liquid escaping down your arm.

Fillings are best served at room temperature or slightly warm so the lettuce doesn't cook. Spicy flavors add a bright contrast to the bland lettuce leaves, so look for recipes that feature sriracha or hoisin sauce as an ingredient (or add some, to taste). 

Ground meats are easier to manage than chopped chunks, and shredded or pulled slow-cooked beef and pork are also good choices as the base. I've included two recipes to fill a lettuce wrap: a taco-spiced quinoa mixture and a crock-pot beef filling (which is also delicious over steamed rice).

Full disclosure: my idea for this column came from a vacation where we enjoyed the vegetarian sushi rolls in the photo. I originally thought I was eating some variety of very thin, smooth lettuce only grown in Hawaii - hence the lettuce wrap story. Only upon closer inspection of the picture did I realize that this was the very lettuce I've just advised you against - iceberg. Maybe it takes a sushi chef to handle such tender lettuce.

Quinoa Lettuce Wraps 


1 C raw quinoa 

1 head Boston lettuce 

1 T olive oil 

1 t toasted sesame oil 

3 minced garlic cloves 

1/2 C diced red bell pepper 

1/2 C sliced green onion 

1 1/2 C black beans 

1 C corn kernels 

1/3 C chopped cilantro 

1 T chili powder 

2 t lime juice 

2 t lemon juice 

salt & pepper, to taste 

garnish* 

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Separate lettuce leaves; rinse, dry and set aside. Heat olive oil and sesame oil in a large, deep skillet over medium low. Add garlic, green onion and red bell pepper. Sauté until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans and corn; cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add cilantro, chili powder, lime and lemon juice.  Add cooked quinoa and stir thoroughly to combine.

Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. To serve, place a scoop of quinoa mixture in each lettuce leaf. *Garnish as desired with chopped cilantro, sliced avocado or diced tomato.

Hot & Sour Crock Pot Beef 

1 onion 
6 pressed garlic cloves 
2 t olive oil 
2-lb boneless chuck roast 
salt & pepper 
1/2 C beef stock 
1/4 C soy sauce 
1/4 C rice wine vinegar 
1 T toasted sesame oil 
2 T tomato paste 
1 T white miso 
1/2 t red pepper flakes 
16 Bibb lettuce leaves 
2 T sesame seeds 

Coat the inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Cut onion into 1/2-inch slices and arrange across the bottom of the pot. Scatter garlic over the onion slices. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high. Sprinkle the chuck roast with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in the skillet and brown on both sides, turning once, about 4 minutes per side. Remove meat to the slow cooker and deglaze the skillet with the stock, scraping up any brown bits. Whisk in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, tomato paste and miso.  When blended, pour the mixture over the meat in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Separate, rinse and dry the lettuce leaves; set aside. Place beef on a platter and shred with two forks. Pour some cooking liquid over the beef, just enough to moisten. Spoon meat into the lettuce leaves and garnish with sesame seeds.