...I was intrigued when my Sister posted about some cooked lettuce that she had at a restaurant a while back...because really the only way I'd ever had cooked lettuce was the southern classic wilted lettuce with onions...
...since I have no access to any of the recommended lettuces here (Boston, Chicory, or Escarole), I used Romaine...
...cut it in half...
...chopped up some carrots and onions...
...got some water boiling...
...and 'plunged' the lettuce in the boiling salted water...
...boil rapidly for 3 to 5 minutes...
...remove and plunge into cold water for 2 to 3 minutes...
...simmer bacon in water for 10 minutes...I used this Vegan Bacon...
...the lettuce certainly kept it's nice bright green colour like Julia said it would...
...I used my little tea ball for the herbs - I use it for that more often that for tea...
...arrange the lettuce and onions and carrots in a casserole...
...put some of the vegetables on top of the lettuce too...
...pour over some broth - I used Orrington Farms® All Natural Vegetarian Vegetable Flavored Base...she also says to add some white wine or vermouth if you wish...I did - because if something's worth doing...
...then that goes into the oven for a shocking 1 1/2 hours....
...when it comes out - transfer to a serving dish and keep it warm...
...while you boil down the braising liquid and then pour that back over...
...I was amazed that after cooking that long the lettuce had any texture left at all - but it held up amazingly well and this was quite a nice dish...
Substitutions:
Vegan Bacon for the bacon
Earth Balance for Butter
Vegan broth for the broth
Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking
pp. 490-491
Any chance you still have the package for that vegan bacon? If so, can you check to see if it is GF? I looked online and I can't tell b/c I don't exactly know where soy protein comes from. I would assume just soy, but you never know!
ReplyDeleteVeggieAmanda - you can easily make gluten free tempeh bacon, just saying! : )
ReplyDeleteAffectioknit - this is really awesome.
I found jess's link to this. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis is a rad blog. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! I'm a pastor's daughter. :) Do you have lots of church potlucks where you have to bring all your own food?
ReplyDeletehey! i just read all the recent posts - all looks yummy, as usual. i'm surprised that the lettuce held up like that after so long cooking. the dish i had at the restaurant was only cooked on the grill for a short while, i'm sure. love, k
ReplyDelete