Vietnamese Meatball Lettuce Wraps with Mango Salad + Cilantro-Basil Cashew Sauce.

[nverland]

Vietnamese Meatball Lettuce Wraps with Mango Salad + Cilantro-Basil Cashew Sauce.
Prep time: 20 MINUTES cook time: 10 MINUTES total time: 30 MINUTES yields: SERVES 4

Ingredients

Mango Slaw
1 mango, peeled and julienned (sliced into thin strips)
1 carrots, cut into small matchsticks
1 cucumber, cut into small matchsticks
1 red onion, sliced thin (optional)
1 red Fresno chile pepper, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/ 2 cup roasted peanuts or cashews, chopped

Green Cashew Sauce
¼ cup fresh cilantro
¼ cup fresh basil
¾ cups roasted cashews
1/3 cup coconut milk, plus more if needed
Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
2-4 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce

Meatballs
1 pound ground pork sausage (or links and casing removed)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, check for gluten free labels if needed
2 tablespoons fish sauce, check for gluten free labels if needed
2 tablespoons honey
1 head butter lettuce
½ cup sweet Thai chili sauce, for dipping
Instructions

Salad
In a bowl, combine the mangos, carrots, cucumbers, red onion, red Fresno pepper and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Toss well. Store in the fridge until ready to serv. Toss in the nuts just before serving.

Green Cashew Sauce
Add the cilantro, basil, cashews, coconut milk lime juice, Thai red curry paste and sweet Thai chile sauce to a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust as needed, adding more sweet Thai chile sauce if desired. Can be store in the fridge for 1 week.

Wraps
Season the pork with salt and pepper and then roll into 20-30 tablespoon size meatballs, place each meatball on a tray as you work. In a small bowl, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and honey. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the meatballs until cooked through, about 5 minutes, turning them 2-3 times throughout cooking. During the last minute or so of cooking, add the sauce and give the meatballs a good toss through the sauce. Cook another minute longer you until the sauce glazes the meatballs. Remove from the heat.

To serve, double up your lettuce leafs and divide the meatballs among the leaves. Top with mango salad and the cashew sauce.