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Asian turkey lettuce wraps with almond sauce for Full GAPS

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps with Almond Sauce for Full GAPS

Ginger turkey, carrot, celery, and zucchini fill crisp lettuce leaves, with a smooth Full GAPS almond-butter and coconut-aminos sauce for the skillet and the table.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian-inspired
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Turkey Filling
  • 2 tablespoons ghee, coconut oil, or rendered animal fat for cooking
  • 1 medium carrot chopped
  • 1 stalk celery chopped
  • 1 whole zucchini chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger finely chopped
  • 1 pound ground turkey plain and unseasoned
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt for seasoning
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper use this OR the dried ginger below
  • 1 teaspoon pure dried ginger powder alternative to white pepper; choose one
Almond Sauce
  • 3 tablespoons smooth homemade almond butter made from properly prepared almonds; or tolerated smooth homemade peanut butter from properly prepared peanuts
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos complete current ingredient list must fit GAPS
  • 2 tablespoons filtered water or freshly pressed apple juice or plain coconut water with GAPS-compatible ingredients
To Serve
  • 1-2 heads butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce leaves separated, washed, and thoroughly dried
  • 3 tablespoons properly prepared almonds or peanuts roughly chopped, optional
  • 1 whole green onion thinly sliced, or chopped fresh cilantro; optional

Equipment

  • 12-inch uncoated stainless-steel skillet or stainless-steel wok
  • Wooden or stainless-steel spatula
  • Small mixing bowl
  • Whisk
  • chef’s knife
  • Cutting board
  • Instant-read thermometer

Method
 

  1. Separate, wash, and thoroughly dry the lettuce leaves. Chop the carrot, celery, zucchini, fresh ginger, and optional garnish before heating the skillet.
  2. Whisk the almond butter, coconut aminos, and selected sauce liquid until smooth and glossy. The sauce should fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon. Reserve 2 tablespoons for the skillet at 1x, or 4 tablespoons at 2x, and keep the rest for serving.
    Smooth almond-butter and coconut-aminos sauce holding a thick ribbon fold
  3. Heat the cooking fat in a wide 12-inch skillet or wok over medium-high heat until fully melted and shimmering but not smoking. Add the carrot and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the celery edges look translucent and the carrot loses its raw chalky look.
  4. Add the zucchini and cook for about 2 minutes, just until the cut edges look glossy and begin to soften. Do not cook until it collapses or releases a puddle of liquid.
  5. Add the fresh ginger, ground turkey, sea salt, and white pepper or dried ginger. Break the turkey into small crumbles and cook for about 5 minutes, turning the meat so no large raw sections remain against the pan.
  6. Continue cooking for about 3 minutes more, or until the thickest turkey cluster reaches 165°F (74°C) with no pink center. If liquid pools in the skillet, move the filling aside and briefly increase the heat until the puddle evaporates, then fold the filling together.
    Cooked turkey, carrot, celery, and zucchini filling with no pooled liquid
  7. Stir the reserved sauce into the fully cooked filling: 2 tablespoons at 1x, or 4 tablespoons at 2x. Spoon into the dry lettuce leaves, add the optional prepared nuts and green onion or cilantro, and serve the remaining sauce for dipping.

Notes

Full GAPS after raw vegetables and properly prepared nuts or peanuts are tolerated; not an Introduction Diet recipe.
Use freshly pressed apple juice, not commercially prepared bottled juice.
Canned water chestnuts, soy sauce, tamari, and heated avocado or olive oil are omitted.
Store filling, lettuce, sauce, and garnishes separately; refrigerate cooked filling up to 3 days.
The linked fermented almond butter uses homemade whey and is not dairy-free. Use only tolerated ingredients.
The 40-minute total assumes the homemade nut butter is already prepared. For 2x, the filling takes 4 tablespoons sauce and the seasoning alternative becomes 1/4 teaspoon white pepper OR 2 teaspoons dried ginger.

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