Braised Lettuce with Onions and Peas with a Garlic Crumb

- for bitter leaves

Recipe by Clare Mcelhatton.

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Braising lettuce is a perfect way to eat them as the months get colder. Usually made with

bacon and cream, this braised lettuce recipe uses almost caramelised onions to balance the

bitterness of the lollo rosso.

• 1 small white onion or leek (around 150g)

• Vegetable oil

• Large head of Lollo Rosso (but this recipe works with most lettuce leaves)

• Salt

• Vegetable stock powder (optional)

• lemon juice or vinegar

• Frozen peas 2 handfuls

• 3 tsp of nutritional yeast to keep it vegan or 2 tsp grated parmesan

Garlic Crumb

• Large slice of sourdough bread. Or any stale leftover bread.

• Garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp stock powder

• Olive oil

• Lemon zest

For the lettuce

1. Slice the onion as thinly as possible. Add to a small saucepan with enough vegetable oil to coat the onion. Add a sprinkling of salt.

2. Cook the onions on a low-medium heat for around 15minutes, stirring frequently. The onions need to lose their moisture and soften without burning- so control the heat as necessary.

3. Keep cooking the onions until they are soft and just starting to brown. They should be soft and have a sweet flavour. Remove from the heat. If using leeks, they will only need 5-10 minutes to soften and become sweet

4. Once the onions have cooled a bit, add 2 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar. Add just enough water that the mixture can be blended with a stick blender.

Make sure the onions have cooled enough- careful when adding water to hot oil!

5. Blend the onions, lemon and water to make a thick smooth sauce.

6. Add the nutritional yeast or parmesan

7. Taste- add salt or stock powder and pepper to taste. The sauce should be savoury, sweet, a little salty and creamy.

8. Return the pan to the heat and add the frozen peas, cook for 5 minutes or until they have cooked through.

9. Add the leaves of the lollo rosso to the pan. Cover with a lid and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the leaves have just wilted slightly.

10. Serve immediately with the garlic crumb, chips or some good bread

For the garlic crumb

1. Toast the bread in the oven until it’s dry and slightly crisp. This may not be necessary if the bread is stale

2. Make into breadcrumbs using a food processor, your hands or a coarse cheese grater

3. To the bread add ½ tsp of garlic powder, a pinch of salt and a good glug of olive oil to coat the bread. The quantities will vary depending on the quality and quantity of the bread used

4. Put the crumbs in a medium oven until golden brown and crunchy (the temperature doesn’t matter, so this is good to do whilst something else is cooking)

5. Mix with lemon zest and serve hot or cold.

6. Perfect on salads, soups or risottos for extra crunch.