What To Do With All That Lettuce, #3

Much like Karen's beloved, I love salad. Greens dressed simply with olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper truly make me happy. My husband, on the other hand, grew up on cooked veggies. But, even I have trouble getting through all the lettuce that has been arriving. It doesn't help that sometimes the lettuce arrives screaming for immediate use. Often the hydroponic lettuce looks as if the due date requires the past tense...

Faced with two heads of hydroponic lettuce that didn't look like they were going to make it dinner that evening, I went the soup route as well, but decided to give it a bit of tang with Kefir.

Kefir Lettuce Soup

2 heads hydroponic boston lettuce, cleaned and chopped
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 russet potato, peeled and cut in ¼ dice
1 quart chicken stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ Cup Kefir

Head the olive oil in a soup pot and add the shallot until translucent. Add the potato and saute for 5 minutes. add the lettuce and wilt--about two minutes. Add the chicken stock and cook until potatoes are done. Blend with an immersion blender or do in batches with a blender. Return to pot, add salt and pepper and kefir and simmer gently.

I also dropped of few stale pieces of baguette on top and that was amazingly tasty.

What To Do With All That Lettuce?

My husband loves salads and always complains that we don't eat enough of them.  I have long been a cooked vegetables girl, and I'm only interested in a salad if it's totally interesting and unique (bonus points if it has a hefty dose of protein).  He on the other hand considers a plain plate of lettuce an acceptable -- and enjoyable -- side salad.

But even he isn't sure about what to do with all the lettuce we've been getting.

I've been working to improve my salad-making and -eating enjoyment, and will continue to share my salad adventures with you.  But what I really need are cooked lettuce recipes!  Better yet, cooked and freezable lettuce recipes.  I have found only one freezable recipe so far -- something I've dubbed "Salad Soup" which is a surprisingly yummy, spring time soup.  Don't knock it until you've tried it. . . It's from one of my favorite soup cookbooks: Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon. 

Cream of Leek, Herb, and Garden Lettuce Soup

6 c chicken stock
1/4 c white rice
Cooking spray
2 Tbs butter
3 leeks, white part and 3 inches green, split open lengthwise, well washed, and chopped
1 rib celery with leaves
1 medium carrot, peeled, halved lanthwise and thinly sliced
2-3 c assorted lettuces sliced into ribbons
1/2 c Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 c fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 c fresh herbs such as sorrel, tarragon, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and sage (anything but dill) chopped
1 c heavy cream or evaporated skim milk
1 Tb flour
1 tsp honey or sugar
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper

In a heavy soup pot, bring hte stock to a boil.  Add the rice, turn down the heat to medium-low, and let simmer, covered, until quite soft, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, spray a 10-inch skillet with cooking spray.  Add the butter and melt over medium heat.  Add the leeks and saute until softened, about 3.5 minutes.  Add the celery and carrot and saute 3 minutes more.  Add the lettuce and herbs, cover teh skillet, and let sweat until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.  Lift the cover and remove from the heat.

Strain the stock, reserving both the rice and the stock.  Transfer the rice to a food processor and return the stock to the pot.  Add half the veggies and herbs, the cream, flour, and honey to the processor.  Puree until smooth.  Stir the puree and the whole vegetables back into the stock.  Simmer, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and free of any raw flour tasts, about 10 mintues.  Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Serve hot.