Four fresh ideas for spring lettuce – twin cities

Is there something more justly than looking at a big pile of spring leaves and imagining all the different things you can do with it?

After a faster winter to be satisfied with root vegetables and warm leafy vegetables like cabbage and curly cabbage, I don’t think.

I do not hit vegetables here in cold weather, because without them, preparing many comforting foods associated with the winter dining room would be a slog.

It’s just that spring finally shows its sunny face, there is something incredibly satisfactory to dig into a salad based on fresh and seasonal green vegetables like Butterhead and Roman Baby.

Not only do these loose, round and oval heads are wonderfully sweet, with a light and refreshing crunch, but you just know that you make your body an incredible favor by eating it.

Because it is mainly water, lettuce is extremely low. (A cup has only about 7 calories.) It is also a good source of vitamins A and K, which promote the health of bones and eyes, and contains antioxidants as well as fiber to strengthen digestion.

Thanks to its shade of vibrant green, the lettuce is also beautiful started in a bowl or spread on a plate – a more final when you eat first with your eyes.

But the real bonus of spring lettuce is that it is a surprisingly versatile vegetable, and often among the most economical purchases in the producer markets or in the product section.

The use of leaves as a basis for salad or as a vegetable garnish for burgers and your favorite sandwiches is only the beginning. The richer leaves like the Roman can be grilled, seized, braised or sautéed. The grated, lettuce leaves can also be cooked in a frittata or stirred in a cheese and creamy risotto to add green ribbons.

Due to its high water content, lettuce makes a good addition to soups and juices and can also team up with fruit in a smoothie good for you.

Are you trying to reduce carbohydrates? Use soft and robust bibb lettuce leaves such as cups or wraps instead of bread or flour or corn tortilla for a number of tasty toppings. Or simply decide and sauté as you would for cabbage, curly cabbage or spinach with a little olive oil or sesame for a simple accompanying dish.

The four recipes that follow prove lettuce can be much more exciting to cook than you think.

The best part is that everyone can be prepared fairly quickly, leaving a lot of time and energy for where most of us really want to spend time in the spring – not in the kitchen, but outside in the fresh air and the sun.

Pasta with lettuce pesto

The pesto is most often done with fresh pesto leaves. Its name comes from the Italian verb pestare, which means “beating or crushing”. But the fresh and crushed sauce can be made with almost all the fresh greens that you have at hand, including the lettuce.

In this recipe, I used large handfuls of green mixed green vegetables (which includes baby lettuce) to make the sauce, with fresh basil mixed to complete the flavor. I did not have pine nuts – a classic choice for the pesto – so I used grilled almonds instead. For a less with garlic sauce, use fewer cloves of garlic.

This sauce is excellent on pasta, but can also be a dolope on a pizza, spread over sandwiches or used as a garnish for grilled meats and roasted vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

4 packed lettuce cups (the spring mixture, the bibb or the Roman works well)

Handle (about 1/3 cup) Fresh basil

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup of grilled almonds or gables

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Good pressure of fresh lemon juice

1/4 – 1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of grated parmesan

16 ounces cooked pasta

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the lettuce leaves, basil, garlic, nuts, salt and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse up to chopped.

With the running robot in progress, drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and pulse until they are combined. Add the Parmesan, if necessary, and pulse to combine briefly. For a smoother pesto, add more olive oil.

Mix with cooked pasta, then serve immediately.

Serves 4.

– Gretchen McKay, post-gazette

Lettuce smoothie

The cabbage smoothies are incredibly popular, so why not experiment with lettuce? I bored Roman with spinach, an apple and an ice banana to make these vibrant green drinks. It sounds crazy, I know, but it has an incredibly fresh and healthy taste.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of chopped Roman lettuce

1 cup of spinach baby

1/2 apple, chopped

1 frozen banana, broken into pieces

1 lemon juice

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon of chia seeds, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Add the lettuce, spinach babies, apple, banana, lemon juice and water to a high -speed mixer. For a thicker smoothie, also add the chia seeds.

Mix aloud until smooth, then pour into two glasses and serve.

Make 2 smoothies.

– Adapted from realfoodwholelife.com

READ THE RISOTTO

You will hardly notice the grated bibb lettuce in this creamy risotto, which has been adapted from a recipe from Lidia Bastianich. It turns into thin strands in the shape of a wire. But it is a great way to avoid waste when you are tired of the salad, or bought too many green vegetables to use right away.

You can serve this risotto either as a main dish with a simple salad and a crisp bread, or as an accompaniment dish.

INGREDIENTS

7 cups or more hot chicken broth, preferably homemade

Kosher salt

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 cups of arborio rice

1 cup of white wine

8 ounces of exterior lettuce leaves (Roman, bibb, etc.), grated

2 tablespoons of butter, in cubes

Finely grated zest 1/2 small lemon

1/2 cup of grated parmesan or my grana padano

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring the chicken broth to simmer in a medium saucepan and season with salt.

Heat the olive oil in a large shallow and deep saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots, sauté for 1 minute, then rent in 1/2 cup of hot broth to soften the vegetables.

Cook until the vegetables are tender and the stock has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Lift the heat to the Middle-Elevé.

Add the rice in one go and stir continuously until the grains are toasted but not colored, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until the liquid is almost absorbed.

Add the grated lettuce and cook until it fades, about 2-3 minutes.

Push about 2 cups of broth, stir and cook until almost absorbed, about 5 minutes. Rent in 1 cup of more broth, and simmer again until the liquid is almost absorbed.

Continue to cook and add stock in this way until rice is cooked al dente but still with texture, about 15-20 minutes in all.

When the risotto is creamy, turn off the fire. Beat in the butter, incorporate the lemon zest and the cheese, season with salt if necessary and serve.

Serves 3 as the main dish, 6 as on the side.

– adapted from lidiasitaly.com

Chicken lettuce wraps

Lettuce envelopes are easy to make and a funny turn on the humble Taco. I used chopped chicken but the chopped turkey also works beautifully. If you don’t like carrots or water chestnuts, experiment with other crunchy vegetables such as peppers.

You will certainly want to use a butter lettuce like Boston or Bibb, because they have tender and robust leaves that will easily fall back around the garnish without tearing.

I added crisp chili for additional spices, but you can also use the sweet chili sauce or the Sriracha to add a soft heat.

When you serve as lettuce cups, submerge the leaves in a large bowl of cold water in the refrigerator. (He will keep the cold and crisp lettuce.) Dry gently with a paper towel before serving.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons of Tériyaki sauce or Hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of rice vinegar

1 teaspoon of grilled sesame oil

1 tablespoon of crisp chili

1 teaspoon

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil

Chicken chicken with 1 book

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh and chopped fresh ginger

3 green onions, finely diced and divided

1/2 cup of grated or finely dice carrots

1 (8 ounces) can chop water chestnuts, drained

2 small bibb heads or butter lettuce

Hacked roasted peanuts or cashews, for garnish

Sriracha sauce, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the Tériyaki sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and crisp chili in a small bowl. Whisk to combine, then incorporate the cornstarch and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it sparkles. Add the chopped chicken, chopped garlic and ginger and cook, breaking the meat in small pieces with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown.

Stir in half of the chopped green onions, carrots and water chestnuts, and continue to cook until the chicken is no longer pink and fully cooked, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the sauce and cook, stirring from time to time until it boils and the sauce is warmed, 30 to 60 seconds.

Separate the lettuce leaves, rinse under cold water and dry with a paper towel. Stack them on a large tray or divide between 4 plates.

Transfer the hot chicken mixture to a service bowl or a spoon directly into the lettuce leaves.

Serve with the remaining green onions and chopped nuts as a garnish and eat immediately.

Serves 4.

– Gretchen McKay, post-gazette