Vegan Chicken and Macaroni Salad Lettuce Wraps

I saw something very similar to these on Pinterest the other day. I forgot to pin it so cannot say where the idea came from but the original was with orzo pasta. As I was having troubles finding orzo.....ok, I only looked in 1 shop and was too impatient to try this, so I used macaroni instead! 

By the way, quick question regarding Pinterest for those of you who follow me: do you like me pinning my own stuff, by that I mean new recipes, or is that annoying as hell? I'm on the fence on this one. If you have a feeling one way or the other, please let me know!

Anyway, any small pasta shape will do here but I can see orzo working really well. The recipe I saw wasn't vegetarian so I didn't even click on it but I knew immediately how I would make it - with my Vegan Chicken Salad Recipe, which I haven't blogged on here yet, it's over on the Daily Food Blog where I like to stick more "simple" recipes. 

I usually have it (obviously) without the pasta stuffed into a wholemeal pitta with lettuce and tomato, it's one of my favourite lunches but I really like this twist. It was also most welcome recently as I've been consuming far too much bread lately, yes, I'm a carboholic! And even though this isn't free of carbs with the pasta there, it's at least a little break from the bread :-)

The little gem lettuce cups and a fresh squirt of lemon juice make this a most crisp and refreshing lunch, really light feeling and so easy to make. I was hesitant in calling these wraps however, as you can see they are more "cups" but you do kind of wrap them as you eat them, so we'll stick with that ;-)

Vegan Chicken and Macaroni Salad Lettuce Wraps

Serves 1 as a meal.

• 40g vegan chicken strips, I used Fry's.
• 1/2 tsp oil to fry
• 30g vegan mayo, (2 Tbsp) I use Plamil Organic.
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped.
• 1/4 stalk of celery, diced small.
• 25g small pasta, dry weight, about 1/4 cup
• 4 baby gem lettuce leaves
• sea salt (I like smoked here) and freshly ground black pepper
• dijon mustard - optional
• lemon slices - optional

Heat the oil in a small frying pan and fry the chicken strips for 6 - 8 minutes from frozen or according to your brand's instructions. Set aside to cool slightly then finely chop.

Cook the pasta according to package instructions then rinse well under cold water until cool, toss in a clean tea towel to get all excess water off and transfer to a bowl.

Mix together the mayo, spring onion, celery, a pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a small bowl. Add the chicken and pasta and mix well. Season to taste.

Wash and pat dry the lettuce leaves then brush them with a little dijon mustard. Optional, but nice. Fill the lettuce leaves with the filling and serve with slices or wedges of lemon to squirt over before eating. Again, it's optional, but nice! 

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Nutritional Information: based on the whole recipe, depending on brand of vegan chicken used.

Calories: 367

Protein: 12.4g

Fat: 23.3g

Sat Fat: 4.2g

Fibre: 4.2g

Carbs: 27.2g

Sugar: 2.4g

Sodium: 494mg

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