Turkey Lettuce Wraps & Ginger-Miso Glazed Eggplant

Summer is officially over for most people, but here in San Francisco, summer (in terms of weather) is September and October. It's been really sunny recently, which in San Francisco means: beer gardens, Dolores Park, brunch, hot walks home after work, and roof top lounging. 

I do love Fall - it reminds me of growing up in Sacramento - colored leaves, fresh air, Halloween and Thanksgiving. I was so excited to see my new Bon Appétit with Pumpkin Soup on the cover - but unfortunately, I feel that it's just too darn hot out to make soups right now! In the meantime, I will just have to hoard all of these magazines until the time is right.  Can't say it will be my first time...

The turkey lettuce wraps were found online, from another food blog called Our Best Bites, and you can find them here.  The ginger-miso glazed eggplant is from Bon Appétit (Riley found both).

The miso was quite intense, so I suggest smearing the eggplant lightly. I also should have used Japanese eggplant instead of regular, so that's another mistake I made. Other than that, I thought the lettuce wraps were super fresh and had a good flavor from the sauce - ground turkey doesn't always have to be so boring! 

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

20 ounces super-lean ground turkey

1/4 cup chopped green onions

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 1/2 cups seeded and diced cucumber

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped cashews

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced OR Sriracha sauce to taste

Juice of 2 limes (about 4 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon sou sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

16 lettuce leaves (we used living lettuce, as does the original blogger)

Directions: 

1.  In a medium bowl, combine the ground turkey, green onions, garlic, and ginger. Cover and refrigerate until dinner time or allow to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. 

When ready to cook, heat about 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the turkey mixture until it's fully cooked through, and start to brown 

2. While the turkey is cooking, combine the lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and Sriracha, if using it. Set aside. 

3. Place the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. 

4. When the turkey is done cooking, add it to the vegetable mixture. Drizzle with the sauce and toss to combine. Serve with lettuce cups, and voilá!

Ginger-Miso Glazed Eggplant 

Ingredients:

6 Japanese eggplant (1 1/2 lb total), cut on a diagonal into 1-inch thick slices (I grated mine as well)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/3 cup white miso (fermented soybean paste)

4 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1/4 freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, divided

3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions (green onion), divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with oil and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roast eggplant, flipping once, until very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Arrange a rack in upper third of oven and heat to broil.

2. Meanwhile, whisk white miso and next 5 ingredients with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons. sesame seeds and 2 tablespoons of scallions. 

3. Smear top of eggplant slices with miso sauce. Broil until golden and charred in places, 4–5 minutes. 

4. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon of scallions.