Thinking About Vegetables - Why don't we cook Lettuce?

[Telly]

We cook Spinach, Cabbage, Corn, Beans, Peas, Potatoes, Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Carrots, Tomatoes, Onions, etc. (though the last three are often eaten raw, too), but I have never heard of Lettuce being cooked.

Never thought about it before, but while eating a sandwich, I realized Lettuce doesn't seem to be cooked ever. Is it a conspiracy of some sort?

Seems a bit odd, doesn't it, that of all the vegetables, somehow Lettuce doesn't get cooked?

Any ideas? Or crack-pot theories? Enquiring minds want to know!

 

[FIREd]

While I have never tried it, cooked lettuce is apparently quite good:

Cooked lettuce becomes a hot topic

Cooked lettuce has a long history. The oldest known cookbook, by the Roman Apicius, includes a recipe for pureed lettuce and onions (cheerfully titled "Another Mashed Vegetable"). Auguste Escoffier, the father of modern French fine dining, gives several recipes in "Ma Cuisine" (1934) for sauteed, braised or stuffed lettuce.

Cooked lettuce is still popular in French and Chinese cuisines -- and anything both cultures cook is especially worth noting. The Chinese cook lettuce as they might any other greens.

 

[MichaelB]

We cook Spinach, Cabbage, Corn, Beans, Peas, Potatoes, Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Carrots, Tomatoes, Onions, etc. (though the last three are often eaten raw, too), but I have never heard of Lettuce being cooked.

Never thought about it before, but while eating a sandwich, I realized Lettuce doesn't seem to be cooked ever. Is it a conspiracy of some sort?

Seems a bit odd, doesn't it, that of all the vegetables, somehow Lettuce doesn't get cooked?

Any ideas? Or crack-pot theories? Enquiring minds want to know!

It could be a conspiracy, but it might also be that cooked lettuce has no texture, unlike all the other veggies you mention.

 

[ratto]

Are you planning to eat cooked lettuce in hot, lukewarm or cold?

As Michael said already, cooking lettuce might destroy its texture. If you do want to give it a try, I would suggest to cook it in a large cooking utensil (more heat mass) with hot oil in it. Let lettuce to go through very quickly without losing too much on its color and texture. Also stop cooking and immediately take lettuce out when you think it's about 60-70% done because the residual heat will keep working on it. Of course, finding a perfect set of seasonings to match or complement the cooked lettuce would be another topic and experiment.

 

[REWahoo]

Here's a great recipe for 'cooked' lettuce. Made with BACON!

Wilted Lettuce Salad Recipe - Allrecipes.com

 

[MichaelB]

Here's a great recipe for 'cooked' lettuce. Made with BACON!

Wilted Lettuce Salad Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Looks good. DW will never make it but I will keep a copy and maybe when she is visiting friends I can try it.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Here's a great recipe for 'cooked' lettuce. Made with BACON!

Wilted Lettuce Salad Recipe - Allrecipes.com

I love wilted lettuce salad. My mother made the best. You mentioning "cooked" lettuce got me to look at the recipe and nowhere does it say anything about cooking the lettuce. It's just rinsed and then the bacon and drippings are poured over it. Still looking for a cooked or boiled lettuce recipe. Doesn't sound good to me.

 

[harley]

What's wrong with you people? There's one way you can cook any food and it's delicious. Fried Lettuce

Seriously, though, I do use various lettuces in stir fries, which I guess is similar to the wilted lettuce recipes. It's good that way. Also it's good pickled, which requires some cooking.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

What's wrong with you people? There's one way you can cook any food and it's delicious. Fried Lettuce

Seriously, though, I do use various lettuces in stir fries, which I guess is similar to the wilted lettuce recipes. It's good that way. Also it's good pickled, which requires some cooking.

Never heard of this but sounds delicious and I'm printing out the recipe. DW says she can't wait to try it.

 

[REWahoo]

You mentioning "cooked" lettuce got me to look at the recipe and nowhere does it say anything about cooking the lettuce. It's just rinsed and then the bacon and drippings are poured over it.

Uh, Johnnie, that's why I put "cooked" in quotation marks. Pouring hot bacon grease over lettuce does "cook" it, in a fashion. And that's about as far as I want to go when it comes to cooking lettuce...

 

[Redbugdave]

Here's a great recipe for 'cooked' lettuce. Made with BACON!

Wilted Lettuce Salad Recipe - Allrecipes.com

My uncle used to make it for us kids. It was a local favorite in the NC mountains. It is called "Kilt Lettuce". We also ate poke salad, and had scrambled eggs with cracklin's in them, (hog brains).

 

[H2ODude]

Next time you have the grill fired up, split a head of romaine, brush with olive oil and spices of your choice, and grill it till it chars the side a bit. Surprisingly good.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Uh, Johnnie, that's why I put "cooked" in quotation marks. Pouring hot bacon grease over lettuce does "cook" it, in a fashion. And that's about as far as I want to go when it comes to cooking lettuce...

Okay?

 

[veremchuka]

We cook Spinach, Cabbage, Corn, Beans, Peas, Potatoes, Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Carrots, Tomatoes, Onions, etc. (though the last three are often eaten raw, too), but I have never heard of Lettuce being cooked.

Also eaten raw are spinach, cabbage, peas, broccoli and cauliflower.

I cook lettuce, ever eat escarole soup?

 

[73ss454]

DW makes a great Lettuce soup. Haven't had it for a while, I'll have to ask her to whip it up.

 

[spncity]

Next time you have the grill fired up, split a head of romaine, brush with olive oil and spices of your choice, and grill it till it chars the side a bit. Surprisingly good.

I had this at a restaurant the other night. Excellent.

 

[modhatter]

I never considered cooked lettuce until a friend of mine from Taiwan came to visit with me for a while. She broke it up and sauteed it in some olive oil and garlic, and I was amazed at how good it was. Would have never thought.

 

[ERD50]

Here's a blog on grilling romaine with some nice pics.

Grilled Romaine Lettuce | GrillinFools

I just hooked up our new Natural Gas grill, will be christening it with steaks this Saturday, and this lettuce, and maybe some grilled garlic bread will be part of it. My mouth is watering.

-ERD50

 

[freebird5825]

DW makes a great Lettuce soup. Haven't had it for a while, I'll have to ask her to whip it up.

I have a great soups and stews only cookbook I bought years ago. I found a lettuce soup recipe in it and tried it for the adventure. It was fabulous.

Here is a recipe from one of my favorite chefs. BAM!!!!

Lettuce Soup Recipe : Emeril Lagasse : Food Network

 

[MBAustin]

Here's a great recipe for 'cooked' lettuce. Made with BACON!

Wilted Lettuce Salad Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Oh, man, that brings back memories. My mom made a very similar dish (no lemon juice and a little more sugar if I remember right) every summer. I haven't made it in years. Guess I'll add bacon and leaf lettuce to my shopping list for next week! Thanks!

 

[Telly]

Disclosure - I am not a cooking person (understatement!).

Had to eat leaf lettuce when I was a kid. Its limp lifeless leaves would stick to the roof of my mouth, back of my throat and gag me. Never eaten it since, cool crisp Iceberg for me!

Wondering about the Wilted Lettuce Salad - pouring the bacon "drippings" over it is all grease, right? Was this a Southern-poor type of food? I don't know, I'm asking.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Disclosure - I am not a cooking person (understatement!).

Had to eat leaf lettuce when I was a kid. Its limp lifeless leaves would stick to the roof of my mouth, back of my throat and gag me. Never eaten it since, cool crisp Iceberg for me!

Wondering about the Wilted Lettuce Salad - pouring the bacon "drippings" over it is all grease, right? Was this a Southern-poor type of food? I don't know, I'm asking.

Hell no! I was raised in the north. Really, as a salad you don't get the impression that the salad is greasy. It's just the flavor of the bacon and the drippings that make the salad. I've found a number of restaurants having it on the menu. The recipe posted on this thread sounds great. But to my poster friend REWahoo, it's still not "cooked" lettuce, it's just "wilted".

 

[MikeD]

I never considered cooked lettuce until a friend of mine from Taiwan came to visit with me for a while. She broke it up and sauteed it in some olive oil and garlic, and I was amazed at how good it was. Would have never thought.

I think every recipe I like starts with olive oil, garlic, and onions!

Mike D.

 

[MooreBonds]

I think every recipe I like starts with olive oil, garlic, and onions!

+1 (from someone with a 100% Sicilian father )