Food & Recipes

Roast Beef and Caper Lettuce Cups

a punch-packing lettuce wrap

Molly frequently requests new salad and veggie recipes. It’s a good thing too, because it would be all too easy for me to stay focused on the meats, cheeses, and sauces that I love. I created this easy spin on the lettuce wrap on nearly every restaurant menu as a happy compromise between the two of us. I could do salads a lot more often if they were more like this…

These instructions call for my easy Lemon Vinaigrette recipe. If you have a favorite bottled dressing, feel free to use it. Otherwise, take a couple extra minutes to make my easy Lemon Vinaigrette recipe; the bright flavors will truly illuminate the cups.

cooking information

• Yield: Appetizers for 10
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cooking Time: 0 minutes

all ingredients

• 1 Head Boston Bibb Lettuce
• 1/2 Pound Thinly Sliced Roast Beef
• 1 Heart Romaine Lettuce
• 1/4 Cup Drained Capers
• 1/2-1 Cup Lemon Vinaigrette

recipe instruction

1. Pull the outer, larger leaves of the Boston Bibb Lettuce off. Thoroughly clean each leaf under cool water and dry with paper towels. Set aside.

2. Cut the roast beef slices in half widthwise. Set aside.

3. Remove and clean the leaves off the Romaine. Clean thoroughly; dry with a paper towel. Stack on top of each other and thinly slice into fine shreds. Place in a bowl and set aside.

4. To assemble the lettuce cups, place a piece of Bibb lettuce down, layer a half slice of roast beef on top of the lettuce, a pinch of shredded lettuce, and finish by sprinkling a few capers over the lettuce. Drizzle the lemon vinaigrette over it all.

5. Fold the Bibb lettuce over itself. Serve, and enjoy.

cooking tips

• The cleaning and chopping of the lettuces can all be done before hand, but no early than a day in advance. Just make sure to store them between lightly dampened paper towels and in the refrigerator.
• If you happen to have an amazing deli in your area, I suggest using bresaola instead of roast beef. This is a dry-cured, aged beef with has amazing flavor. Otherwise, your favorite roast beef will work perfect in this recipe.