Do you prefer lettuce? In salads or in soup?
It is true that lettuce is almost always eaten raw and this provides us with many micronutrients not found in cooked or processed food.
And if you consider the fact that lettuce contains moisture, energy, protein, fat, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and sugars and among the minerals and vitamins found in lettuce, it should be mentioned calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, zinc along with vitamins like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B-6, C, A, E, and vitamin K, there are a lot of reasons why you should choose lettuce for your diet.
However, the sweet, earthy taste of lettuce in soups makes a surprisingly delicious alternative to salads and if you have not tried yet such a soup, now you get the perfect occasion.
My Lettuce Soup Recipe
It is known that lettuce is rich in vitamins, especially in iron.
It can be eaten as it is or if you like it, even as a soup.
I always eat it with cheesy polenta, as it reminds me of childhood.
Besides lettuce, the soup also contains onion and garlic (which is also very beneficial for the body), is soured with vinegar and garnished with egg yolk and sour cream.
And the bacon is the icing on the cake. Lightly fried and smoked, it gives a great taste to the soup.
I hope I have convinced you and you will also prepare this soup.
Here it is my soup recipe, the same recipe that I always prepare.
- 1 kg curly lettuce
- 1 onion
- smoked bacon
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 2 egg yolks
- 200 gr sour cream
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
- vinegar to taste
- salt
- 4 l of water
Required kitchen utensils
– a bowl for washing vegetables;
– a wood cutting board;
– 5-liter pot (5-quart);
– a pan;
– a bowl for mixing;
– a knife for chopping vegetables.
Step 1. Preparing the vegetables
Peel the onion and cut it in four. Peel and crush the garlic.
You should wash the lettuce well and immerse it in boiling water with a pinch of salt for 2-3 minutes.
I personally do so to get rid of the bitter taste (this is available if the lettuce is bitter) and not to get a soup of a too green color.
Drain the lettuce well, cut it into small pieces and put it in a 4-liter pot of boiling water, along with the onion.
Step 2. Frying the bacon
Slice and fry the bacon a little bit in a pan.
When the lettuce is almost boiled (after about 35 minutes), add the bacon to give it some smoky flavor.
Finally, add the garlic, remove the onion and then remove the pot from the cooker.
Step 3. Finishing the soup
In a bowl, mix together yolks with sour cream.
When soup has cooled down, add two ladles of soup in the bowl with sour cream, let the ingredients to blend and pour into the soup pot continuously mixing for homogenization.
Add salt and vinegar to taste.
In a saucepan, add oil and once it is warmed, add sweet paprika, mix quickly and quench with a little soup.
Pour into the soup pot for more color.
Step 4. Serving the soup
Pour into bowls adding a piece of bacon. You can serve the soup with cheesy polenta or grated cheese.
Enjoy your meal!
As you can see, a lettuce soup recipe is simple, fresh and great for a summer lunch.
In case you do not know, lettuce is not just good for salads: it makes shockingly delicious soup, too.
Easy and quick to make, a silky-smooth soup is creamy and can be served hot or chilled.
Or find this soup a great way to use lettuce’s outer leaves and ribs, which usually go to waste.
French Lettuce Soup
There are different ways to prepare this light and refreshing soup and it turns out that lots of other cultures have versions of lettuce soup.
For example, Slovakians eat a soup made from iceberg lettuce that is light and refreshing. And as French do it all the time, let’s find out more about a French Lettuce Soup.
This French soup represents exactly what the French do with the outer leaves of lettuce that are too tough for a salad.
The fresh, delicate, green taste of lettuce is the perfect backdrop for a medley of spices and herbs like tarragon, chervil, thyme, and garlic and is good hot or cold.
So, despite the ingredients mentioned in my recipe, you should consider gold potatoes (russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced) and a bouquet garni made with a cleaned leek green, a bay leaf and a few sprigs each parsley and thyme tied together.
Also, French do not use bacon for this dish. Once finishing preparing the soup, you can blend the soup until smooth.
Lettuce Soup in a Fontina Gratin
Another possibility is to prepare a lettuce soup in a Fontina gratin: this dish is specific to the Italian cuisine.
This Italian soup is simple to make, full of classic Italian flavors, and comforting. For the recipe, you need Fontina cheese, escarole, leeks, potatoes, chicken stock, country bread, fresh bay leaves and of course, romaine lettuce.
Vegan Lettuce Soup
For a Vegan Lettuce Soup, you should add some other ingredients such as a carrot, vegetable broth or wine, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, Tofu or boiled potatoes, and soy sauce.
You can add kale or other darker greens. And you can substitute a number of items for the tofu.
The goal is to make the soup heartier. Keep in mind that 1/2 can of chickpeas, white beans, or a cooked potato would work well.
Lettuce Soup Diet
On the other hand, you should know that there is a Lettuce soup diet: this diet is ideal to eliminate your cellulite.
Slimming with lettuce not only helps you to lose your extra kilos but also, you get rid of the orange skin.
The diet of lettuce soup is based on the consumption of a delicious and refreshing recipe which contains onions, green peppers, tomatoes, carrots,
