Larb, a dish of ground lamb seasoned with things like lime leaves, lemongrass, fish sauce, herbs and hot chili, served with lettuce as a sort of rustic wrap, is one of my favorite quick meals to put together when I have ground meat. Traditionally pork is used to make the dish, but it’s even better made with ground lamb, or ground goat as I’ve used here. All you do is marinate some ground meat, cook it, then eat hot spooned into lettuce cups with a special sauce on the side–that’s it.
It’s a simple dish that comes together quickly, but for the best version, you’ll need to take a trip to your local Asian grocer for a couple key ingredients. There’s lots of variations of larb, but I really like mine seasoned with lemongrass and finely chopped lime leaves–those, along with some fish sauce, are really the only things most people might not keep in their pantry. Depending on how busy your local Asian grocer is, lime leaves and lemongrass might be sold fresh (in a busy, urban area) or frozen (rural areas and smaller stores). Either frozen or fresh lime leaves and lemongrass will work just fine here–the most important thing is that they’re both finely chopped. I also like a little crunch with mine, so I added some black walnuts, but toasted peanuts are fine too, or you could omit them.
Lemongrass needs to finely chopped to not taste stringy. Use a heavy knife and finely mince it–just a table spoon is enough to flavor a pound of meat.
Lime leaves may seem a little tough when you try to chop them with a knife, but it’s worth it–the delicious citrus aroma they lend to the dish is incomparable.
This recipe is by Chef Alan Bergo, the Forager Chef. A chef from Minnesota, Alan is a culinary industry veteran, former executive chef of acclaimed Lucia’s Restaurant, and the Salt Cellar. Author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora, he’s one of the most respected voices in the world of foraging and wild food. He’s best known as the founder of Forager Chef, his website focused on wild ingredients that reaches millions of readers each year. Learn more about Chef Alan and his hunt for mushrooms, wild and obscure foods at foragerchef.com.
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