Vegan Greek Chickpea Lettuce Wraps

Friends, we’re celebrating today.

It’s the 2 year dating anniversary of me and Mark!

Kinda crazy this whole relationship started two whole years ago. We were getting ready to finish college, graduate, and move in together. Why not throw starting a relationship into that whole mix as well?

Nothing about our relationship has been “by the books.” But I kind of love it that way.

In fact, the first time we ever hung out, we decided to make dinner at his apartment and watch Modern Family. Looking back, I have no idea where the burst of confidence in my cooking ability for others came from, so I’m still pretty impressed with myself tbh. I had no idea what he liked to eat, so I asked him for a list of suggestions. From that list, I chose a few different things. And, well…this was the conversation that ensued:

After spending upwards of $30 on groceries (seriously), I headed over to his apartment, seriously freakin’ nervous. So nervous that I barely spoke to him while the cooking was happening. I like to think that I was “adorably awkward,” but I’m pretty sure it just came off as weird. To my defense, I don’t think either of us really knew what that hang out session was – just two friends cooking, a date, etc. -, but luckily I lightened up and seriously enjoyed dinner. He was, and totally still is, one of my very favorite people to be around, and he definitely made me laugh all night. Especially when we decided it would be a good idea to turn our stir fry idea into lettuce wraps.

Although they are delicious, lettuce wraps aren’t the most…refined thing to eat when you’re sitting next to a boy you like.

Fast forward about a year, we signed a lease together and became an “official” couple…in the same day. Some might say that we were kinda nuts. I just say we totally got each other and knew what we wanted.

So today, we’re celebrating with lettuce wraps as a throwback to that first hangout/date/thing. And they’re seriously amazing.

Had I known that so much flavor could be wrapped up in a light and crisp lettuce package, I would have made this exact recipe for Mark and me. I was literally eating this entire beautiful mess off of my photography board as I was photographing them. It’s kind of a miracle that I got a few decent shots out of this shoot because they.are.insane.

It starts with marinated chickpeas! We’ve done this before (eek, pictures), but I seriously love them here. The chickpeas are seriously the most difficult part of this recipe (yay!!), so definitely don’t skip them here!

I love when dishes are all about the toppings, and these lettuce wraps are the perfect example. Juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, earthy olive tapenade, creamy avocado, and theverybestever lemon tahini drizzle (yes, we’re totally using it again).

Guys. This combo is everything. ~~Pretty sure~~ I would definitely eat this every day for dinner if given the opportunity.

So make these lettuce wraps for a guy or gal you’re into. Or save them all for yourself. No judgement here. I (begrudgingly) shared with Mark, the best lettuce wrap partner ever.

Enjoy, friends!