Lettuce
Geoff Jansz looked at the wide variety of lettuces now available and how to use them to make exciting salads (see hints and salad dressing recipes below). To help understand the vast selection you may encounter at the greengrocer or on sale at your local nursery, Geoff suggests grouping them according to flavour.
Group 1: The ‘Mild Bunch’
These lettuces have mild, inoffensive flavours and are great for adding colour and texture to a salad.
Buttercrunch – mild flavour with interesting leaves.
Coral – there are red and green forms of this lettuce which has leaves that are wavy and coral-like in shape. Coral lettuce has a mild, sweet flavour.
Oak leaf – there are red and green varieties of this lettuce which has a leaf shape that resembles that of an oak leaf. Oak leaf lettuces have a very mild flavour.
Cos lettuce – this lettuce has coarse leaves that are crisp, sweet and tangy. It is Cos lettuce that is traditionally used in Caesar salads where it is combined with garlic, croutons, egg, anchovies, olive oil, bacon and parmesan cheese.
Iceberg – the most widely sold lettuce in Australia. It has crunchy leaves and a mild flavour.
Geoff’s tip: It is easy to remove the core of an Iceberg lettuce to separate the leaves. Hit and twist the base of the core. It will then be easy to remove, leaving the lettuce leaves ready for tossing into a salad bowl.
Group 2: The ‘Wild Ones’
These are mainly salad greens or leafy herbs which give extra flavour and character to a salad or a sandwich.
Watercress – this leafy green vegetable (a form of nasturtium) has a deep green coloured leaf, a peppery flavour and is great on sandwiches.
Rocket – this is a herb rather than a true lettuce which is used a great deal in Italian recipes. It has a peanut taste with a peppery bite.
Hint: A great recipe idea is to serve rocket with a squeeze of lemon juice, parmesan cheese, pine nuts and some good sea salt.
Baby spinach leaves – before English spinach (or even silverbeet) leaves are mature they are tasty in a salad. Pick the young leaves from the centre of the plant.
Sorrel – this leafy vegetable has a pleasant but sour flavour and is often used in French cooking.
Pak Choy – a leafy Asian vegetable that is usually steamed but the young leaves, which have a mustard flavour, can be washed and used in a salad.
Mizuna – this is a Japanese green, a leafy vegetable which has a mustard flavour like Pak Choy and interesting frilly leaves. It is available in seed packets.
Group 3: Bitter lettuces
The bitter lettuces have a strong flavour probably reminiscent of the way a wild lettuce tasted before its flavour was refined through thousands of years of selection.
Endives – actually a type of chicory, endive comes in two forms. Normal endive resembles a lettuce while frizzy endive has a yellow heart and frilled leaves. Both have a naturally bitter flavour.
Radicchio – This is also known as red chicory or chioggia and is not a true lettuce, but a form of chicory from southern Europe. It is strong tasting with a biting, peppery flavour. It is a variegated leaf of deep crimson and creamy white which adds contrast to a mixed salad.
Mesclun
A mesclun is simply a combination of different types of lettuces to make a mixed salad. Mescluns have a range of lettuces and salad greens are sold loose at most greengrocers. The word mesclun is from a French word, mesclumo, meaning a mixture.
Vinaigrette recipe
Regardless of your choice of lettuce or the way they are combined you’ll need a salad dressing or vinaigrette. Below Geoff has a recipe for a simple dressing however he recommends trying your own combinations of oils, vinegars and other additives, mixing to suit your taste.
Ingredients
- 100mL olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 2-4 tablespoons vinegar
Method
Put all the ingredients in a jar. Put the lid on tightly and shake until all the ingredients are mixed together.
Hint: Other ingredients that can spice up your dressing include herbs, garlic, onion, mustard, sugars and lime or lemon juice.
Growing lettuce
Lettuce can be planted all the year round in frost free areas. Look for interesting lettuce and salad greens at your nursery. They may be available as mixed punnets or as mixed seed packs.
Hint: In hot weather newly planted lettuce may need a little shade.
Did you know?
Lettuce, Lactuca sativa, derived its botanic name from the milky fluid in the stem (it can be seen seeping out of the cut base of a freshly picked lettuce). Lactuca is from the Latin word ‘lac’ meaning milk.