Adapted from “Salad Samurai: 100 Cutting-Edge, Ultra-Hearty, Easy-to-Make Salads You Don’t Have to Be Vegan to Love” by Terry Hope Romero.
Curried Tempeh and Apple Salad
Lettuce
Grilled Romaine with Simple Blue Cheese Dressing
Storing lettuce: rinse the leaves and spin them dry in a salad spinner. If you have space, storing the leaves in the salad spinner is great. But that takes up a lot of room in the refrigerator. You can wrap the washed leaves in a dry tea towel and then drop that into a plastic bag that you don’t seal tight. I find that if I clean the lettuce when I get it home, I’m a lot more likely to add it to a sandwich or make it into a salad then if I have to do all that prep when I’m ready to eat.
Lettuce Sauce
This is a recipe from Emeril Lagasse. No cooking involved. If you’re worried about the raw egg yolk, just eliminate it.
Storing lettuce: rinse the leaves and spin them dry in a salad spinner. If you have space, storing the leaves in the salad spinner is great. But that takes up a lot of room in the refrigerator. You can wrap the washed leaves in a dry tea towel and then drop that into a plastic bag that you don’t seal tight. I find that if I clean the lettuce when I get it home, I’m a lot more likely to add it to a sandwich or make it into a salad then if I have to do all that prep when I’m ready to eat.
Lettuce Soup
I have no idea where I found this recipe, but it came with this note: “Equally delicious warm or chilled, a simple pureed soup of lettuce, potato, onion, and chicken stock is seasoned with hints of parsley, nutmeg and lemon and fortified with a touch of cream. Unlike lettuce in the raw, the soup only gets better as it sits and can be gently reheated throughout the week.”
Storing lettuce: rinse the leaves and spin them dry in a salad spinner. If you have space, storing the leaves in the salad spinner is great. But that takes up a lot of room in the refrigerator. You can wrap the washed leaves in a dry tea towel and then drop that into a plastic bag that you don’t seal tight. I find that if I clean the lettuce when I get it home, I’m a lot more likely to add it to a sandwich or make it into a salad then if I have to do all that prep when I’m ready to eat.
Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
Make dressing: in a medium bowl, combine lemon zest and juice, garlic, mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil until thickened. Whisk in sour cream. Toss together lettuce; transfer to serving platter. Pass dressing on the side.
Stacked Summer Vegetable Salad
A recipe from the Wednesday morning Dunwoody Farmers Market.
Stir-Fried Lettuce and Spinach
From Bon Appétit.
I’m a big fan of cooked lettuce. Try this and see what you think.
Creamy Lettuce and Garlic Soup
Sometimes you want something to do with lettuce besides eat it in a salad. This recipes is from seriouseats.com. You can serve this soup chilled or hot. It goes together in minutes.
Grated Raw Beet Salad
This recipe is adapted from one by Martha Rose Shulman and published in the New York Times.
I’m always surprised by the number of people who think you can’t eat beets raw. Of course you can!
And if you scrub them well, you don’t even need to peel them. Just trim up the stem and root ends and that’s all the prep they need. Especially if you’re going to grate them.
Pasta with Sausage, Onions and Lettuce
If you’re thinking you’d like to do something with that head of romaine beyond fixing yet another salad, remember that the leaves make fabulous wraps for grilled anything. Or for spring rolls. I came home from the beach a few weeks ago with a bag of wild Atlantic shrimp. I poached the shrimp and then made spring rolls, using shredded romaine in place of the traditional rice noodles. When it came to eating the rolls, I laid each one in another romaine lettuce leaf, and added a few leaves of mint and basil, dipped the whole thing into a spicy Vietnamese dipping sauce and enjoyed.
I also love the idea of slightly wilted romaine lettuce. See what you think about this recipe.