Sides and Salads Recipes - Fragrant Mushrooms in Lettuce Leaf Saucers Recipe

Ingredients

• 30ml/2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 baby cos or romaine lettuces, or 2 Little Gem (Bibb) lettuces

• 1 lemon grass stalk, chopped

• 2 kaffir lime leaves, rolled in cylinders and thinly sliced

• 200g/7oz/3 cups oyster or chestnut mushrooms, or a mixture of the two, sliced

• 1 small fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• 30ml/2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 5ml/1 tsp palm sugar (jaggery) or light muscovado (brown) sugar

• small bunch fresh mint, leaves removed from the stalks

Serves 2

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Method:

1. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the garlic and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden. Do not let it burn or it will taste bitter.

2. Meanwhile, separate the individual lettuce leaves. Rinse them well, dry in a salad spinner or blot with kitchen paper, and set aside.

3. Increase the heat under the wok or pan and add the chopped lemon grass, sliced lime leaves and sliced mushrooms. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes.

4. Add the chili, lemon juice, soy sauce and sugar to the wok or pan. Toss the mixture over the heat to combine the ingredients together, then stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.

5. Arrange the lettuce leaves on one large or two individual salad plates. Spoon a small amount of the mushroom mixture on to each leaf, top with a mint leaf and serve.

Note: This quick and easy vegetable dish looks great served on lettuce leaves, and it means the mushrooms can be scooped up and eaten with the fingers. It's a lovely treat for children.