Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
Crisp, hearty and refreshing, a really good salad can be a revelation. We have lettuce from our farm and grower friends in France early on and follow up with our own homegrown crops as the year progresses.
In the kitchen
How to store Lettuce
Store in the fridge for 4-10 days, depending on the variety. Whole leaves attached to the lettuce last twice as long as chopped, washed leaves. Wash well before use.
Prep & Cooking tips
For salads, pull off the leaves you need, wash them well and use shredded or torn into manageable pieces. Keep the rest of the head in the fridge. Not just for salads, lettuce can be braised or griddled and adds a sweet, clean taste to soups.
Easy ideas
1. Balance
Try for a mix of strong, peppery and mild flavours to create an interesting overall balance. Contrast a salty cheese or olives with something sweet like apples, roast peppers or tomatoes. Combat any bitter tastes with something sharp and acidic.
2. Texture
Toasted nuts, seeds or croutons will lend a crunch to proceedings. Cooked and cooled pulses and grains such as puy lentils, spelt, farro, and chickpeas will lend a bit of bite as well as bulk. Early in the season, try adding raw broad beans, asparagus and peas for extra succulence.
3. Style
Take the time to layer and place your ingredients to show off their colours, shapes and contrasts. Herbs, crumbled cheese, nuts and vibrant coloured dressings are best added at the end as a finishing flourish.
Goes well with
Olive oil
Salt
Lemon
Mustard
Blue cheese
Croutons
Peas
Lettuce recipes
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BBQ grilled little gem lettuce
Serves: 4 Total time: 10 min
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Griddled little gem, aioli & pine nuts
Serves: 2 Total time: 20 min
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Grilled Gem Lettuce with Anchovy & Brown Butter
Serves: 8 Total time: 25 min
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Greens & Beans
Serves: 2 Total time: 35 min
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Easy broad bean salad
Serves: 6 Total time: 15 min
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Minted braised Little Gems
Serves: 4 Total time: 35 min
In the field
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Meet the grower: Riverford on Sacrewell Farm , Peterborough
Sacrewell Farm is Riverford’s home in the East. We’ve been farming there since 2007; it was the first ‘sister’ farm to our original Devon HQ, Wash Farm.
UK seasonality
Lettuce varieties
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Cos/Romaine
The old-fashioned Mr McGregor-style lettuce. Sweet and crunchy - the classic Caesar salad leaf.
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Lamb's lettuce
Sometimes known as mâche, lamb's lettuce is a soft, succulent salad green with a delicately tangy flavour.
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Batavia
The most common lettuce in France. They have a fairly crunchy texture and earthy flavour and can be either green or red in colour.
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Little Gem
Really a mini Cos. Good shelf life and texture, plus they can be very sweet. They are good cooked, too.
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Oakleaf
True to its name, the leaves of this lettuce look like large oak leaves. It has a buttery texture and a sweet, mellow flavour with just a hint of nuttiness, making it a perfect match for savoury dressings.
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Pain de sucre/Sugarloaf chicory
The sweetest of the bitter leaf family. Balance its earthy bitterness with a balsamic dressing, or cook with ham/bacon and lots of cheese and cream.
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Butterhead
Butterhead lettuce gets its charming name from the sweet, mild flavour and tender texture of the ruffled outer leaves. Some varieties are green, and some dark red.
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Red Salanova
Dark rosettes, with burgundy outer leaves paling to a light green heart. Their leaves are tender, with a delicate, sweet, buttery flavour – just right for refreshing salads.
