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Sparkle (2)
When asking people about their weekly produce box, I heard from many of you who belong to Community Supported Agriculture Groups (CSAs).
Y’all have reported that springtime is the most difficult because your farm share is flush with lettuce and herbs. So flush that your family starts looking like a bunch of rabbits and you spend all your time clearing every possible surface in preparation for drying out little leaves. (This is not just a problem for those in CSAs but also for all you over-eager gardeners out there.)
I get it. I mean, how much lettuce and herbs can you really eat?
Fortunately, I have not been in this situation (yet) and so I am only here to offer suggestions, not my usual How-I-Get-Through-It method.
First, what to do with all that lettuce?
Main course salads and using lettuce leaves as tortillas/sandwich wraps can only get you so far. Have you ever thought about braising the lettuce? It’ll wilt down so you wind up using more per serving. It’s lovely alongside roasted meats or even as a bed for a basic chicken breast (think saltimbocca, like this one from Fine Cooking Magazine).
- One of my favorite braised lettuce dishes is from Julia Child‘s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Here’s a variation on it from Whisk: A Food Blog.
- Want something quicker? This Braised Lettuce and Peas recipe by Aida Mollencamp looks promising. I’m definitely giving it a whirl next time there’s lettuce in my organics box.
- Note that while you can’t freeze fresh lettuce, you can freeze leftover braised lettuce. Add it directly from the freezer to vegetable stocks and soups.
What else can you do with lettuce?
- Lettuce Sauce! Yes, seriously. It’s bright and fresh with salmon as well as with milder flaky white fish, chicken or over cooked and raw vegetables. Try this Bibb Lettuce Sauce by Emeril Lagasse.
- Also truly wonderful is lettuce soup. Think cream of spinach with bacon and onion but wilt lettuce instead. Afraid of winging it? Here are some interesting recipes to follow: Tangy Herbed Lettuce Soup from The Nourishing Gourmet and Arugula and Red Onion Soup from Collected Quotidian.
Herbs, herbs and more herbs:
Drying herbs is space and time-consuming. No worries. There are other better-tasting, simpler and more interesting ways to use up and preserve your herbs.
- We all know about making pesto and freezing it in ice cube trays. If you love pesto and think you’ll use it, don’t limit yourself to basil and pine nuts. Think sage and walnut, parsley and almond, cilantro and lime zest. And skip the messily annoying ice cube trays. Fill a large ziplock bag 1/3 full and lay it flat in the freezer. Try to remember to smoosh it around once before it freezes. If you forget, no worries. As long as it wasn’t too full and was lying flat, a few smacks with a rolling pin will break it up so you can snag out little bits as you need it.
- You can also make a gorgeous gremolata as a condiment for dinner one night. Then add olive oil and freeze the leftovers as you would pesto. Check out my Cilantro-Orange Gremolata recipe from my series Kid-Friendly Fare with Adult-Friendly Flare.
- Some herbs freeze very well when placed as is in a ziploc bag. You can then pull some out to add to soups, stews, stuffings, braises, quiches, pasta sauces; basically any cooked preparation. This works with dill, parsley, thyme and cilantro.
Syrups: Herb-flavored syrups drizzle intriguingly over basic angel food cake (store-bought!) or ice cream. They can be mixed with sparkling water, plenty of ice and/or a bit of vodka for a refreshing and unique summer sipper. See my recipe for Orange Rosemary Syrup below. Lemon and basil (or thyme) work beautifully together. Or just use plain water, sugar and an herb for an even simpler syrup with just as many uses.
- Herb salts: O.K., this still involves the
