How to use up a whole head of lettuce before it turns – no salad, please
We’re talking about how to apply heat here, because raw lettuce is all about salad (unless you’re using the leaves to cradle mince or mushrooms, which is also an excellent shout). Braising is as good a place to start as any, says Farokh Talati, head chef at St John Bread and Wine in London. Cut the lettuce in half through the root and season, and get a cast-iron pan on the heat. “If I was doing this at the restaurant,” Talati says, “I’d use beef dripping, but you could fry bacon in vegetable oil instead, then lift it out and use the fat left in the pan; or, for vegetarians, just use olive oil.” Once the fat is smoking hot, pop in the lettuce cut side down, cook until well charred – “We’re talking dark” – then take out of the pan. Talati would then fry chestnut mushrooms or poached sweetbreads and smoked bacon, before returning the lettuce to the pan with a little chicken or porcini stock, and perhaps some thyme and crushed garlic. Cover, simmer until you have “a lovely rich sauce”, and finish with a splash of balsamic or sherry vinegar.
For a thrill from the grill, Olly Oakley, head chef at the Harcourt Arms in Oxfordshire, barbecues lettuce whole. “It ends up with a nice, smoky, warm middle,” he says, making it ideal for serving with a caesar-type dressing or anchovy butter, plus a smattering of pangrattato to “hearten things up”. Alternatively, Talati adds, rub seasoned lettuce wedges with extra-virgin olive oil and harissa. “Really work them into the leaves, then get it on the barbecue and cook, turning every three minutes, until wilted.” Transfer to a tray and “rest whatever else you’re grilling, be that sausages, pork chops or steak, on top of the lettuce, so all the resting juices drip on to it”.
Lettuce is a great carrier of flavour, so marinating (in olive oil, lemon and marjoram, Oakley suggests) and roasting is another good ploy, as is stir-frying. In her book Tenderheart, Hetty McKinnon cuts an iceberg lettuce into chunks, fries them in a hot wok with oil and chopped ginger and garlic, then pours over soy sauce, sesame oil and some seasoning. “When lettuce is stir-fried, it wilts, but it retains texture and crunch,” she says, “so it’s ideal for eating with rice.”
Then there’s lettuce soup, which can be made with peas or potatoes, and definitely a fair few soft herbs. For my money, though, Feast’s Rachel Roddy has the right idea by stuffing blanched butterhead leaves with a mixture of beaten egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic, nuts and minced parsley and marjoram, then securing the parcels with toothpicks and blanching them in vegetable broth.
Finally, potatoes don’t own the gratin game, so give lettuce a go, too. Guardian columnist Tom Hunt suggests reducing 150ml each of stock and double cream by half. Meanwhile, melt some butter in a frying pan, add chopped spring onions, peas and lettuce wedges, then saute until the lettuce wilts. Chuck in some chopped garlic and the cream mix, season, then sprinkle with grated parmesan and whack under a hot grill until nice and bubbly. That’s going to trump a salad any day.