Lettuce is a precocious crop and it is often the first to appear on the table. According to the terms of consumer ripeness, salads are divided into spring, summer and autumn. Farmers breed mainly four types of salads: leafy, cabbage, romaine and asparagus.
Lettuce is one of the most popular green plants, which is especially appreciated in spring, when the diet lacks vitamins and minerals.
Salad is a delicious dietary vegetable and a mandatory component of the most exquisite dishes of European cuisine. It has a low calorie content and is rich in minerals and vitamins.
Lettuce leaves and heads are usually consumed fresh to prepare various salads mixed with other vegetable crops (cucumbers, tomatoes) or as an independent dish.
How to Mix Lettuce with other Ingredients?
Chopped fresh lettuce leaves are seasoned with vegetable oil, mustard, garlic or onion, salt, lemon juice, vinegar, finely chopped dill, parsley, celery, chervil are added to taste. The salad is also used to prepare the first dishes (soup-puree) boiled cabbage. Salad is also used in stewed and fried form. Lettuce leaves are eaten before the plant forms a stem, as they subsequently become bitter.
Seed (cultural) lettuce is cultivated mainly for nutrition. Latex (lactucarium) is obtained from the stems. The seeds contain good quality oil. For nutrition, young leaves of leafy varieties, heads (cabbage and romaine lettuce), thickened stem (asparagus salads) are used until the flower stem appears.
How to Use Lettuce in Cooking?
Lettuce leaves are an ideal component of simple and delicious vegetable salads, products for which do not require heat treatment. And they also make cute snacks in the form of tubes, rolls, slices, bags, envelopes.
Lettuce leaves remain one of the most interesting ingredients in cooking in general. Firstly, because of its appearance, brightness. Secondly, because of the benefits and taste. You can put any cold snacks, ready-made salads on them. And outwardly it will look more beautiful. They can also be added to any snacks and salads, thereby saturating the dish with vitamins and fiber.
How to Cook with Lettuce?
The simplest, fastest vitamin salad consists of: leaves, boiled eggs, green onions and mayonnaise. All this is chopped and mixed. It is served as a snack or as a spread on bread. It can be used as a filling for pita bread rolls. The combination of green salad leaves and red fish is very interesting, many advise to try it.
By and large, I just made beef stew. The highlight is that before stewing, the meat was marinated in a sauce seasoned with Basil and two types of pepper.
I prepared another version of the salad with pears, and decided to share it with you. I think it turned out well, the iceberg salad crunches, it is echoed by crispy bacon, everything goes perfectly with sweet pears, pieces of boiled chicken and beets, nuts take their rightful place. Everything is connected by an original dressing based on olive oil.
Light, crunchy and very delicious spring salad. Why green? Because all its main components are green, except for shrimp. Well, and cherry tomatoes… this is for decoration and adding a bright note.
Light, bright in summer, crispy salad from a simple set of products. The salad is prepared very quickly, and the mint dressing will give the salad a piquant freshness.
