Excessive Lettuce Soup

I found myself with an absurd about of lettuce and greens recently. I had a gallon sized zipper bag stuffed full with mixed young green and red leaf lettuces. A 14 cup tupperware container filled with spinach. Half of a head of romaine. A half of a bunch of Swiss chard. A half of a bunch of dinosaur kale. A couple of leaves of butter lettuce. Basil. Parsley.

One of the biggest complaints I'd heard about participating in a CSA was that you get too much lettuce. I scoffed. I love salads. I'll make lettuce wraps! It's fine.

Holy fuck, I had a lot of lettuce. I have a giant salad nearly every day for lunch and sometimes for dinner as well. I make really good salads, too, with every vegetable in my fridge! However, one can only eat so many salads before the sight of salad makes one want to scream. So, I Googled too much lettuce and found a lot of suggestions for lettuce soup. I admit, that didn't sound particularly appetizing, but people on all of these websites were saying how amazing it was. I cobbled together a recipe and figured if it wasn't good, I'd toss it. It was amazing.

Lettuce takes on a much different texture while it cooks. It wilts down, but doesn't get soggy. It seems to take on some of the cooking liquid and develops a soft, toothy crunch. It made what seemed like a relatively bland recipe into a hearty, flavorful bowl of soup.

The key is a good, rick stock. I am so terrible at making stock but I'm trying. I cheated and used store bought stuff. In one serving, I drizzled olive oil and sprinkled Parmesan cheese. In another, I added slices of smoked beef roast I had left over from one of the boy's smoking sessions. Another time, I stirred in some beaten egg while it simmered. All of these meals were lovely.

The great thing is that it doesn't have to be a set recipe. Use whatever greens are hanging out in your fridge getting yellow or wilting. Use more or less broth depending on how much foliage you have. If I'd had celery, I would have added some stalks with its leaves. If your carrots have tops, throw those in there, too!

Excessive Lettuce Soup

8 cups of a luscious stock, veggie or chicken

1 small to medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic

2 carrots, shredded

A handful of fresh parsley, coarsely chopped.

A handful of fresh basil, sliced into ribbons

Fresh thyme, pulled from two or three sprigs

What seems like too much green, leafy vegetables (I added all of the stuff that I listed at the beginning.) Chop them coarsely.

Sweat the garlic, carrots and onion. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add the greens that take longer to cook first. I added the kale and chard and let it simmer for two or three minutes, then I added the spinach and thyme for a minute or two, then all of the more tender lettuces along with the parley and basil. Simmer it for about 5 – 10 minutes, until it reaches a consistency you like.

Some people suggest pureeing it with a little cream. I thought it was great as is, but I may try the creamed suggestion one day. Should you one day find yourself with too much lettuce, you should give a soup a try.