Spicy Beef Lettuce Cups & BBQ Butterbean Mash
Ah, spicy beef lettuce cups.
This was one of those recipes that came to fruition during a frenzied situation (or at least, more frenzied than usual) in which I had only 20 minutes to make dinner. And not just for myself, either. For my awesome cook boyfriend who was having a stressful time and really deserved cheering up.
Pressure? ON.
He’s currently studying for medic exam finals- you know, those really important and enjoyable this-will-decide-your-whole-future-and-career types. So as he’d spent all day revising at the library, I volunteered to put on my good girlfriend/wife material badge and make him dinner in time for his arrival home. Which was at 8pm.
It was 7.35pm and I was lying in the bath.
Dried and dressed in record time, I zoomed into the kitchen.
7.40pm.
What was in the fridge?
Ground beef.
Great! I’d make my signature bolognese with polenta. That’d be nice and quick, and he always enjoyed that. I wouldn’t be able to simmer it for as long as usual, but it would still be good. Yes. Perfect.
Except… I didn’t really feel like making bolognese. Despite its 10/10 delicious and comforting score, I suddenly felt an overwhelming impulse to take on a challenge and create something new with no prior planning or thinking through. And now was definitely the most sensible time to do so.
Now, I should probably mention here that Andrew wouldn’t have cared if I hadn’t made it on time. He’s not some food scheduling nazi or anything. Its just that I’m one of those crazy cats who likes to set self imposed time constrained tasks for the fun of it. (Read: usually not very fun. But oddly addictive…)
Anyway. It should have been a disaster. But, 30 minutes later, a sweet sentence rang from his mouth:
“Wow! This is the best thing I’ve…”
“Ever had??!” I cut in eagerly.
“They’re definitely up there!” came his reply.
I admit I may have finished the end of the sentence for him. But his appreciative groans and eye rolling said it all.
THEY WERE AWESOME.
Quick, hearty, spicy and meaty…With amazing macros!
Since I had already eaten dinner earlier, I had to look on with devastation as he singularly made his way through the lot. I was offered two generous bites, but lets be honest: a couple of bites is the most bittersweet offering one can receive.
Desperate to get my hands on a whole plateful of my own, I made them again for lunch the next day and it was a beautiful and spiritual moment that I will cherish forever.
Ladies and gentleman, I give you spicy beef lettuce cups with BBQ butterbean mash.
ENJOY!
- 1tsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tin (400g) butterbeans, drained
- 60g 0% fat greek yogurt
- 40g BBQ sauce, or pulled pork paste
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 50g spinach
- 200g 5% fat beef mince
- 8 little gem lettuce leaves
- 1 beef stock cube (I like the brand Kallo)
- 2tsp each: smoked paprika, ground cumin, dried rosemary
- 1tsp each: ground sage, white pepper, cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
- In a frying pan, heat your oil over a medium heat. Add to the pan your beef, smoked paprika, cumin, sage, white pepper, cayenne pepper, half of the dried rosemary and half of the crushed garlic. Combine well with a wooden spoon, so that the mince is evenly coated in the spices.
- Whilst your spicy beef mix is cooking, you can prepare your BBQ butterbean mash. Into a blender or food processor (I used a nutribullet) add your butterbeans, greek yogurt, bbq sauce, the other garlic clove and the rest of the dried rosemary. Blend until smooth, or slightly chunky if you prefer.
- Next, dissolve your beef stock cube in 250ml boiling water, then check back on your mince. It should now be cooked, so into the pan pour over the stock, followed by the spinach. Simmer for 5-6 minutes or until the beef has absorbed the stock and there is no excess liquid in the pan, and the spinach has wilted.
- Prepare your lettuce cups on a plate. Using a small spoon, spoon the butterbean mash into the lettuce cups, then, with a separate spoon, spoon the spicy beef over the top of the mash.
- Eat!
- Protein: 36g
- Carbohydrate: 39g
- Fat: 7g
- DISCLAIMER: All macronutrient totals are accurately calculated based on the specific products I used. These totals may vary slightly depending on what brand supplier you use in the case of packaged goods. Therefore, all macronutrients given here are provided as a guideline only.
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