Cooking lettuce

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
Anyone have any ideas for cooking lettuce, other than grilling.
 

FryBoy

New member
Check it out:

http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-01-11/food/17275747_1_lettuce-la-varenne-cooked

I happen to have a very rare copy of the English translation of the ancient Roman cookbook mentioned in the article, The Roman Cookery Book by Apicius. Here's the recipe as it appears in the book:
Puree of Lettuce-Leaves with Onions

Boil in water with cooking-soda; drain; chop finely. Pound in the mortar pepper, lovage, celery seed, dried mint, and onion, add liquamen, oil, and wine. <Mix with the lettuce and onions and serve.>
The portion within the brackets is apparent the translator's clarification. I have no idea what lovage or liquamen are.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
While there aren't any specific measurements given here-- the combination sure sounds good to me.
---
Lattughe Al Sugo

Ingredients: Lettuce, Parmesan, bacon, stock, butter, croutons of bread, gravy.

Take off the outside leaves of a lettuce, blanch and drain them well.
Put on each leaf a mixture of grated Parmesan, salt, little bits of chopped bacon or ham, add a little good stock, cover over with buttered paper, and cook in a hot oven for five minutes.
Then drain off the stock and roll up eachleaf with the bacon, etc, put them on croûtons of fried bread and pour some good thick gravy over them.
 

goatherder

New member
I second the soup idea. A few years ago I was renting a self catering cottage in Derbyshire and the landlady had us over for dinner one night...she made a lettuce soup on her Aga and it was delicious. She grew the lettuce as well as the flowers that were everywhere around her house and our cottage.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
This is exactly COOKED lettuce, Ray, but the hot dressing wilts the fresh lettuce right in the serving bowls.

Lee

Wilted Lettuce Salad, Stella’s

For 4 people


Leaf lettuce, torn into bowls, about ½ head per person
5 slices of bacon, diced and fried till crisp

Dressing (adjust these amounts to your own taste – it should be
slightly sweet and slightly sour)


¼ cup minced onion
2 teas sugar
½ teas salt
¼ cup cider vinegar
4 T. water

Remove fried bacon pieces from fat and drain on paper towel. Mix the
dressing ingredients and pour the dressing into the hot fat. Bring quickly to boil,
for about a minute, then pour the dressing over the bowls of torn lettuce. Top with bacon pieces,
freshly ground black pepper, and toss.
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
This is exactly COOKED lettuce, Ray, but the hot dressing wilts the fresh lettuce right in the serving bowls.

Lee

Wilted Lettuce Salad, Stella’s

For 4 people

Leaf lettuce, torn into bowls, about ½ head per person
5 slices of bacon, diced and fried till crisp

Dressing (adjust these amounts to your own taste – it should be
slightly sweet and slightly sour)


¼ cup minced onion
2 teas sugar
½ teas salt
¼ cup cider vinegar
4 T. water

Remove fried bacon pieces from fat and drain on paper towel. Mix the
dressing ingredients and pour the dressing into the hot fat. Bring quickly to boil,
for about a minute, then pour the dressing over the bowls of torn lettuce. Top with bacon pieces,
freshly ground black pepper, and toss.

I'll second this one. My mother used to make something very similar. I love that tangy/sweet combo. She also put chopped, hard boiled egg on top.
 
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