Lettuce

For storage, care, and easy prep ideas, check out our lettuce product page.

Recipes on this page:

Grilled Romaine Lettuce     Vegetarian Sushi     Caesar Salad     French Cream of Lettuce Soup     Curried Tuna Salad    

Recipes from around the web:

9 Ways to Use Lettuce That Don’t Involve Salad    

Grilled Romaine Lettuce (return to top)

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine or rice wine
  • 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 small heads romaine lettuce (or 1-2 large), cut in half lengthways

In a blender or food processor process soy sauce, sesame oil, wine, brown sugar, and ginger until thoroughly combined.
Brush lettuce with marinade. Place lettuce, cut sides down, in centre of cooking grate. Grill 5 to 7 minutes, turning and brushing with marinade halfway through grilling time.

Vegetarian Sushi (return to top)

  • 4 to 8 lettuce leaves
  • 3 ounces somen (thin Japanese wheat noodles)*
  • 1/2 cup matchstick-size strips carrots
  • 1/2 cup matchstick-size strips green onion
  • 1/2 cup matchstick-size strips red bell pepper (can be left out)
  • Fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chili paste with garlic*
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

*Thin Japanese wheat noodles and chili paste with garlic are available at Asian markets, specialty foods stores, and in the Asian section of some supermarkets.
Pat lettuce leaves dry. Put water to boil. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Refresh under cold water and drain.
Arrange 4 lettuce leaves on work surface. Place additional leaves on each arranged leaf if needed to form 8-inch length. Place 1/4 cup noodles along 1 long side of each leaf forming 1-inch-wide strip. Arrange carrots atop noodles, then green onion, bell pepper and cilantro leaves. Starting from 1 long side, roll leaf over filling. Roll up tightly in jelly roll fashion. Place each roll on piece of plastic wrap and roll up tightly, twisting ends. Refrigerate rolls 1 to 8 hours.
Combine vinegar, soy sauce, chili paste and sugar in bowl. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Remove plastic wrap from rolls. Trim ends. Cut each roll into 6 pieces. Place pieces cut side up on platter. Place sauce in center of rolls and serve.

Caesar Salad (return to top)
* Note: For those of you eating “lighter” you can adapt this recipe very easily. Either skip the croutons or bake them. I encourage you to try to make your own dressing, but if you are going to buy it there are many versions, including “low fat” ones.
Serves 6
For croutons

  • 3 cups 1/2-inch cubes of fresh French or Italian bread
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

For dressing

  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 6 flat anchovies, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, trimmed and torn into bite-size pieces
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Make croutons:
Preheat oven to 350°̊F. In a bowl toss bread cubes with oil and salt to taste and spread in a jelly-roll pan. Bake croutons in middle of oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes.

Make dressing:
In a blender blend together at high speed garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and salt until smooth. With motor running add oil in a slow stream and blend until emulsified. Add water and blend dressing well.
In a large bowl toss romaine with dressing, Parmesan, croutons, and pepper to taste.

French Cream of Lettuce Soup (return to top)

  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced fine
  • 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
  • 1 Tbsp minced fresh tarragon
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 lb Romaine lettuce, finely shredded
  • 1 bunch watercress, minced
  • 1 qt beef or vegetable stock
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 c half and half
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter in saucepan over medium-high heat; add garlic, parsley, tarragon, and onion. Cook until onion is transparent.
Add lettuce and watercress. Stir over low heat 5 minutes. Stir in the beef stock and simmer uncovered 30 minutes.
When ready to serve, beat the egg yolks and the cream together with several tablespoons hot soup, then pour in, stirring constantly over low heat until the soup thickens slightly.
Stir in salt and pepper and serve.

Curried Tuna Salad (return to top)

  • 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 c ranch salad dressing
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 2 (6-oz) cans tuna packed in water, drained
  • 1 c chopped green onions
  • 1/2 c pitted black olives, chopped
  • 6 c washed and drained mixed salad greens
  • 6 plum tomatoes, quartered
  • 3 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

Add potatoes to pot of boiling, salted water; return to boil and simmer 5-7 minutes, or until tender but firm. Drain and set aside.
In large bowl, blend dressing and curry powder. Stir in tuna, green onions and olives. Gently stir in potatoes.
Arrange greens on platter. Mound potato mixture on top, and garnish with tomatoes and eggs.

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