As you know, we try to consume a plant slant diet. Because of this, we typically have a lot of vegetables in the fridge. We utilize all of the great veggie resources around – Farmer’s Markets, local grocery stores, and even produce delivery options such as MisFits (organic produce delivered to your door – only slightly “misfit” – too big, too small, weird shapes – it’s a great option!). The other day, we had too many greens on hand – romaine, baby cabbage, and leaf lettuce. Well, the internet is good for recipe searching – so “what to do with too many greens” turned up Lettuce Soup! We didn’t exactly follow the recipe but added some of our own favorite ingredients. It turned out great and it is really good for you – loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!
Lettuce Soup is a great way to use outer leaves and ribs (if you are going to throw them away anyway) as well as lettuce that you won’t have time to use in a salad – mesclun greens, arugula, spinach, kale, watercress, leaf lettuce – basically whatever you have! Throw in a potato or two – again, any kind – russet, red, Yukon gold, etc.
Here is the recipe: Cook 2 medium chopped onions, scallions, and/or shallots and 3 gloves chopped garlic in olive oil or butter in a 4–5-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring, about 3-5 minutes. Add herbs of your choosing – we like coriander, chervil, dill, basil, tarragon, chives, oregano, and many others. Stir in a couple chopped potatoes. Stir and cook about 5 minutes. Then we added about a cup of vegetable broth (but you can use water too) and keep stirring and heating. Once the potatoes start getting tender, stir in your chopped greens (about 3-4 cups) and 2 more cups of vegetable broth (or water) plus 1 cup of water and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. We followed this with a squeeze of a half lemon, salt and pepper, and a few dashes of Chipotle hot sauce (and/or red pepper flakes). We then blended with an immersion blender (or you can use a blender). We folded in about a ½ cup of organic plain Greek yogurt to give it some more protein as well as some shredded pecorino Romano. We served it in a bowl topped with a little more pecorino, balsamic and lemon olive oil drizzle to finish. Optional: add whatever veggies you need to use up – we have also added chopped tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks. The last batch we made; we also added a little sweetness – chopped fresh pear and have also used raisins.
So, when you are tempted to throw away that wilted lettuce, think again – and consider making a tasty, nutrient-packed soup! Serve hot, warm, or cold. It will do your body good!