Lettuce Make Another Salad

I got off to a late start planting my vegetable garden this spring. I knew I'd have to wait until after hip surgery in mid-February, and then when I felt well enough to get outside, I quickly discovered that leaning way down to plant at ground level wasn't going to happen. There was only one solution: invest in raised beds that would bring the working area up to a height I could tolerate without bending over. By the time the beds were delivered, positioned, filled with good planting soil, and irrigation installed, the ideal time for planting lettuce in Southern California was almost passed. With hot weather bearing down on me, but still determined to put in some lettuce, I made my way to Flora Gardens nursery to see what was possible.

Most of the cool-season lettuces were no longer available, but a lovely purple-red lettuce caught my eye: Midnight Ruffles Red Romaine. It sounded like a name for a pedigreed race horse so I was convinced it would be a winner. Two days after planting the seedlings, the temperature shot up to the high-90s, a death sentence for most lettuce. The only thing I could do was to keep it well-watered and hope for the best. For several unseasonably hot weeks I fretted and hovered, and my lettuce seedlings hung in there. Against all odds, I am now harvesting beautiful ruby-red lettuce.

This is a lettuce with a pronounced flavor, not bitter, but assertive, so when I make a salad I pair it with other equally assertive-tasting ingredients. At the Ojai Farmers' Market, I found a Green Butter Oak Leaf lettuce, a red onion, tomatoes, and a sweet red bell pepper for color and crunch. Back at home, I added some crumbled Greek feta cheese and topped the whole thing with a yogurt-based ranch dressing. Paired with a boule of freshly baked artisan bread and a medium-bodied California chardonnay, I had a meal fit for a queen. A winner, indeed.

Pea Shooters

My broken toe has pretty much limited my garden activities to sitting on the patio and gazing out at all the herbs that need trimming, or picking and using in the kitchen. How frustrating to see all that oregano, tarragon, mint, chives and parsley flowering and going to seed due to neglect.

Meanwhile, my fellow gardeners (the ones with two good legs) are having a hey-day making hearty salads, salsas, pesto, vegetable soups and garnishing everything from cold drinks to steaming hot pasta with the bounty from their gardens.

During a recent heat wave, newspaper food sections were staying away from writing about hot soups and casseroles, featuring instead cold soups for dinner that had the double benefit of using fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden. I found a recipe in the New York Times that seemed like something even a gimp could manage (with a few adjustments), so after a little shopping and a minimum of herb-gathering in the garden, I renamed the recipe and started in.

Pea Shooters

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced

Salt to taste

5 Cups frozen or fresh peas (I used 2 12-ounce bags of frozen peas)

3 Cups, tightly packed, coarsely chopped Bibb lettuce (about 1 head)

¼ Cup coarsely chopped tarragon leaves

¼ Cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

¼ Cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves

¼ Cup chopped chives

Small whole herb leaves for garnish

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot. (Set aside the remaining 2 tablespoons for use later). Add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the peas, lettuce and stock and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Drain through a strainer set over a bowl, and allow the vegetables and the broth to cool separately for 15 minutes. Taste the broth and season to taste.

Working in batches, puree the vegetables and herbs in a blender with the broth and remaining olive oil for 2 minutes per batch until smooth and frothy. Pour into a large bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill for several hours. 

Serve in soup bowls if this is to be the main course, but I like the idea of serving it in individual Irish coffee glasses, espresso cups or shot glasses as an appetizer or aperitif.  Either way, garnish each serving with leaves of tarragon or mint.

Makes 2 quarts, enough for six soup bowls, or 12-15 aperitifs.

Lettuce Make A Salad

The spring of 2011 was not the year to start garden vegetables early. I planted lettuce about six weeks ago and the poor things have endured spells of temperatures in the mid-90s followed by torrential rain and unseasonably cold, windy nights. Still, they have soldiered on, and this week I have started picking perfect heads of Green Oak Leaf, Butter Crunch and Red Loose-leaf.

In their raised beds, young heads of lettuce form a checkerboard of vibrant colors and are almost too beautiful to assault with a kitchen knife. So I’ve developed a ritual whereby I admire them with loving gazes and verbal flattery before I whack them off at the stem and take them into the kitchen. Even though they were grown organically and are chemical-free, a thorough rinsing and a cold water bath flushes out any little bugs or specks of soil that hide near the stem. After some chilling in the fridge, they are ready for the salad bowl.

My friend Katrina, a terrific cook who now lives in England, taught me how to make vinaigrette, and it is so tasty and easy to prepare I will never, ever use a store-bought dressing again. This recipe can be altered in a number of ways by changing the vinegar or the oil and adding fresh herbs, but I keep coming back to the basics.

Katrina’s Vinaigrette

¼ Cup good quality balsamic vinegar

¼ Cup water

½ Cup extra virgin olive oil. Some olive oils are a little heavy for my tastes, so I use a “light” olive oil, or half EVOO and half canola oil. You can experiment with this.

¼ Teaspoon Colman’s dry mustard, or ½ Teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 Large clove of garlic, mashed through a garlic press

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a clean 1-pint screw-top jar and shake to emulsify. For a thicker dressing, combine the vinegar, water, garlic and mustard in a blender, and with the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil through the opening in the lid. Then add the salt and pepper. Refrigerate any unused dressing in the covered jar.

This recipe makes one cup of dressing, enough to dress a salad for at least six people. I also use this vinaigrette on steamed or roasted asparagus, and on that favorite of all summer salads: sliced tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese generously garnished with a chiffonade of basil.