Chimichurri Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Lately I have been lacking inspiration.Or the will to be inspired. I have been scribling away many ideas on my mail draft. Yeah thats the way I do it. When I'm hit my an idea or food anxiety I draft a mail to myself. Crazy I know!

But unfortunately all the ideas, some extremely pausible have not pushed me into the kitchen. I think we all suffer from this time to time? May be its the weather. Its extremely humid and hot. With temperatures never really falling below 45 C at all times.

Yesterday, I went to meet a friend who delivered a baby boy  5 months ago. For same strange reason I decided I will walk to her place which is within 10 minutes reach. Big deal you might say! Well take this....by the time I reached her neat little apartment, I was drenching in sweat, my hair looked like I was hit my hurricane and I have a dry eye. I don't want to even think of what she thought of me (particularly when she was seeing me after more than a year)

Add to that, I tried to play around with my Mango cup cake recipe, this time around when mangoes are fresh and sweet as heaven. Played too much. The mango cup cakes are perfect as they were but I went crazy! It didn't quiet work out. They were eatable. Just that.

Reluctant to take up any challenge today, any mishap or throat clogging dinner, I had no way but to make something summer like. Though this rarely happens around here. I do get the carving of eating winter things in summer and summer in winter. Phew! Not today.

I think nothing speaks of summer like herbs.  They are green, vibrant and fresh. A garnish of green herbs can bring any dish to life. There are also people who some times try to cover up a mishap dish by adding lot of herbs. And luckily for that someone it often works. How do I know? Well because me and that someone are remote friends. Like we meet each other once in a blue moon in a messed up kitchen, where food is flying, dishes piling up and temperature in my head is boiling.

Just for the record, I love green so much, that my living room is based on the theme of green and wherever you turn your head you shall find a leaf looking back at you. Its my little take on a garden that so wished I had but can't. I think I should be sharing some snaps soon.

Chimichurri is an vibrant green sauce, which  is somewhere between a pesto and green chutney. Originally from Argentina, I was first introduced to it at a so so restuarant which had awful food but an wonderfully tangy Chimichurri. I probably would have called it the worst restuarant ever, if it wasn't for the chimichurri. But it also lead be to realize that means no one can go wrong with chimichurri.

Chimichurri Chicken Lettuce (and cabbage )Wraps
Serves : 1-2 person

Ingredients

For Chimichurri

1/2 cup Parsley (chopped)
1/4 cup Coriander (chopped)
4 tbsp mint (Chopped, optional)
2 spring onions
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp red chilly powder/red chilly flakes
1 green chilly (optional)
3 cloves garlic
3-4 tbsp lime juice *
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
100 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper

1 whole chicken breast ( skinned, boneless and cubed)
Iceberg Lettuce
Purple Cabbage**

Note:
*To add that tang to chimichurri you can add white vinegar, red vinegar, lime or even lemon juice. You could also play around with half of vinegar to half lime. Just make sure you add little at a time and keep tasting till you reach desired sourness.
** I served this not only as lettuce wraps but also cabbage wraps. It was colorful and crunchier. It probably would go down better with adults but every one adores purple here.

Method:

I have a constant battling with one gadget in my kitchen and that is my food processor. We don't see eye to eye. I  say start it burps. I say stop it runs. I say grind it chops. I say chop it sits quietly. No living or non living thing might be as cursed as my food processor and luckily for me, they cant arrest me for it .

Every time I have to take it out I start cursing under my breath and that one time you shouldn't be around because you shall be cursed too. I dropped in the garlic and herbs first and tryed pulsing. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. I cursed. Quiet. Quiet. MurtazZZZzzzzzzzza. He pulses. Works!

Add all the spices, oregano, bay leaf and green onions. Drizzle in the lime juice. Add the olive oil, till it all comes together like a coarse chutney. You don't want it to be smooth like a paste.

Cube the chicken and pour half of the sauce on it. I prefer to add 1/2 tsp salt on the chicken apart from adding salt to taste in the chimichurri. Keep aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile wash both  the lettuce and cabbage , dry, and separate the leaves. Set aside.
Brown the chicken in a frying pan till the chicken is done.

 
Lay out a lettuce leaf and spoon a heaping full of chicken on the lettuce. Drizzle with the remaining chimichurri sauce.

 
What a delightful sight. Shades of green and purple dancing over my turkish plates. This was just what I needed to bring my spirits to life again.
 

 
The chimichurri shining all the way. May be way too much because I served this up with Paneer masala, and saw the cubes of paneer getting dipped in the chimichurri. I followed and realized paneer with chimichurri is surely next on agenda.

Try it.

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cabbage, chicken, Chimichurri, herbs, Lettuce wraps