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This dish is one of my absolute favorites. I enjoy it so much that I can easily eat it every day for an entire week. In order to save time, I will usually make 2 servings of the dressing at once so that the recipe is faster and easier to remake later in the week when I run out of the mixture and am left craving more!

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 Jalapeño, seeded and minced
• Grated zest and juice of 3 limes
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 Tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 cup roughly chopped button, cremini, or portable mushrooms
• 1/2-1 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 6 finely sliced green onions
• 1-1.5 lbs lean ground turkey or chicken
• 4 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• lettuce cups or 4 cucumbers hollowed into cups (optional)

Method:

For the dressing: whisk together the garlic, ginger, jalapeño, and lime zest and juice in a medium glass mixing bowl. While whisking, drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside (I usually make twice as much and store half the dressing in a mason jar in the refrigerator for later in the week).

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tbs of the olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot, add the cashews and toast, shaking the pan to keep them from burning, until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, roughly chop, and let cool (another method is to put the cashews in a zip-lock bag and pound them lightly with the dull side of a meat tenderizer on top of a wooden cutting board).

In the same skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining tbs of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper, green onion, and ground chicken or turkey. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula or wooden spoon and mixing it into the vegetables, until the turkey is thoroughly browned, 7 to 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, add most of the dressing, and mix well. Sprinkle the chopped cashews into the turkey mixture.

Enjoy this mixture on it’s own or spoon it into lettuce or cucumber cups. Top the mixture with fresh cilantro and a drizzle of the remaining dressing.

*Cucumber Cups: cut each cucumber into 3 logs (approximately 2 inches long). Scoop out the inner flesh using a small spoon or melon baller, but don’t scoop all the way through the bottom, as the cups need to hold the meat mixture. Lightly salt the cucumber rounds and place on paper towels to drain*

One serving size should weigh about 5 oz with as many cucumber or lettuce cups as you wish.