The bitter truth about lettuce
And one of my all-time favorite garden to table recipes.
Freshly harvested lettuce is flavorful, tender, sweet..until it’s not. Even a few hot days can bring out a surprising amount of bitterness but there are a few things we can do to enjoy homegrown lettuce throughout summer.
CHOOSE HEAT TOLERANT TYPES
Black Seeded Simpson
Salad Bowl
Buttercrunches
Oakleaf types
Batavian, like Sierra or Nevada
Red Sails
Red Romaine, like Rouge d'Hiver
The red pigmentation (anthocyanins) provides some stress protection. Red and bronze lettuces generally handle heat slightly better than their green counterparts.
Consider other salad greens like arugula and swiss chard. Note: wild arugula (Diplotaxis), which is a perennial, handles heat better than common arugula/rocket but I grow both all summer. Common arugula will get peppier in the heat, while wild gets a nutty bitterness.
RINSE AND REPEAT
Sow and harvest often. It’s the season of baby greens. Also, literally rinse. If greens are tasting a bit too bitter for your liking, cover with water and keep in the fridge for a few hours- just not longer than a day. When a lettuce plant is stressed by heat or drought, it'll increase product of lactucarium, which is the white liquid seen at the harvest cut. Soaking will remove it.
RECIPE: GRILLED ROMAINE CAESAR(ISH) SALAD
Since we're on the topic of lettuce…
One of my very favorite dishes. While I prefer to grill these over charcoal for a hint of smokiness, a gas grill or even a cast iron pan will do the trick. I call it Caesar-ish because I tend to skip the raw egg in the dressing, instead reaching for mayonnaise. The lime vinaigrette was lifted from a NYT Cooking recipe; it's good, no doubt, but also an easy skip in the interest of time.
FOR THE DRESSING
1 clove garlic, minced
3 anchovy fillets, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons mayo
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE (Optional)
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 lime, juiced (approximately 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE SALAD
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads romaine lettuce, tops and bottoms trimmed neatly, cut lengthwise into quarters (or halves if using small heirloom types)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Make the dressing by creating a paste from 1 teaspoon kosher salt, the anchovies, and minced garlic. Add the Dijon mustard and mayo, then the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Mix lightly, then continue whisking while slowly drizzling in the olive oil.
Brush the lettuce with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill cut side down over medium-high heat for 1–2 minutes, just until softened.
Paint with the dressing, making sure to get down into the crevices between the leaves. Grate a bit of Parmesan cheese over the cut side. Grill again for another 2–3 minutes. Once plated, drizzle with the lime vinaigrette. Top with croutons or a crumbled Melba cracker for crunch.
Serve warm.
