I know… it sounds weird, most of us are put-off when the lettuce goes all wilty in a sandwich, but when the right kind of lettuce is quickly sauteed over high heat it makes a delicious vegetable side dish. It retains its crisp texture and the greens become almost fluorescent in color. The part I like best is that the bitterness of the lettuce fades away while the sweetness is brought forward.
When cooking lettuce it’s important to use the right kind. Soft pillowy lettuce like butterleaf isn’t well suited for being cooked. Your best bet is to use crisp lettuce with a firm stem like Romaine or Iceberg. While iceberg will work just fine, I tend to find its flavor almost non-existent, so really you just want to get a nice head of Romaine lettuce.
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While I’m all about making simple things regardless of the time of year, this is especially true as summer approaches. Part of this is a practical thing (don’t want to have the stove on all day), but it’s mostly because I like to enjoy summer’s bounty almost naked, with just a few accents to make things pop.
Summer is a time for satiny leafy greens, curvaceous summer squashes and sweet succulent berries with all laid to bare. Can they be adorned with a few accessories? Sure! Just as long as you don’t cover up the best bits. Is this starting to sound like a steamy romance novel? Well good! because I’m passionate about the foods of summer.
As it gets warm outside, I’ll be visiting farms, gathering summer’s beauties and exposing them, centerfold style. The following highlights two gorgeous greens with little bits of fleshy pink bacon and bronzed walnuts setting the whole thing off.
2 slices of thick-cut bacon cut into batons
3 medium swiss chard leaves roughly chopped
10 ramps roughly chopped
small handful of crumbled walnuts
Cook the bacon in a saute pan over medium heat until a good amount of fat has rendered out and the edges start turning brown (but not crisp). Turn up the heat and add the swiss chard, tossing until wilted and the white stems turn translucent.
Add the ramps and walnuts and cook for a few more seconds until the ramps wilt and turn a vibrant green. Grind some black pepper on top and serve.
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Most recipes call for cooking kale 30+ minutes, but unlike collard greens, Lacinato isn’t as fibrous and doesn’t need to be cooked that long (you can even eat it raw). A quick saute followed by a 10 minute steam is enough to preserve the green color, flavor and firm texture without turning it into a smelly brown mess boiled in liquid. I also like to use a minimal amount of liquid so all the nutrients don’t leech out into the water.
You can turn this into a meal by frying some pancetta with it then dropping a soft poached egg on top and serving it with a thick slice of crusty bread. Or experiment with different spices and aromatics such as sage, chili peppers, or shallots for a different take. If you want to go asian, replace the salt with a splash of soy sauce and the wine with Mirin.
1 bunch Lacinato kale roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
Splash of good olive oil
Splash of white wine or water
Salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
Squeeze of lemon
Heat a large pot with a lid over high heat until very hot. Add a splash of good quality olive oil and then the garlic.
Saute the garlic for a few minutes until lightly browned and fragrant.
Add the kale, a small splash of white wine and the salt and pepper and stir. Lower the heat to medium low, cover and cook for another 10 minutes.
Adjust seasoning if needed and serve with some lemon juice squeezed on top.
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