Hot or Cold Creamy Lettuce Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can lettuce be cooked? ›

Cooked lettuce is one of my favorite ways to quickly infuse flavor (and luck) into weeknight meals, paired with a simple protein or simply spooned atop rice. Lettuce transforms dramatically under heat, which breaks down the stems and leaves to create a silky, tender-crisp texture.

Frozen lettuce has its place in the kitchen. You can add it to soup or stock, quiche, casseroles, and stir fries. You can substitute frozen lettuce in any recipe that calls for spinach. Whole frozen lettuce leaves work well as wraps; thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before using.

When cooked, the flavors in lettuce go from nothing special to deliciously amazing. The leaves wilt as they simmer, as do most leafy greens, and become tender when they're done cooking. They also soak up the flavors from the garlic cloves and broth, giving them heaps of savory and smoky flavors.

In China, it's extremely normal to cook lettuce and serve it either hot or cold, in soups, stir-fries or as cooked salads. The Romans apparently cooked their lettuce leaves before dressing them with oil and vinegar.

Lettuce is much more than a primary salad ingredient or an accessory placed on your sandwich or burger. Cooking lettuce gives it an entirely new texture that can be used in soups, stews or for many easy Asian side dishes. Boiling separated lettuce is faster than boiling a whole head at once, though you can do either.

Cooking lettuce improves the flavor

The types that often react best with heat are romaine lettuce and endive. When cooked, lettuce tends to develop a smoky flavor, something that's bound to make your dish tastier. What can you do to enhance the flavors? Go down the sautéing route or opt for grilling your greens.

Depending on the type of produce, lettuce can generally be stored in the fridge for up to 10 days when properly washed or prepared. While most varieties of lettuce can usually last between 7–10 days in the fridge, it's best to use freshly chopped or shredded lettuce quickly, within about 2–3 days.

The general consensus is that dogs can eat lettuce such as romaine, arugula and iceberg. Lettuce of these variety do not contain anything that may be inherently harmful towards your dog. Lettuce is considered a low-calorie snack and a great training treat for overweight dogs, or those on a low-calorie diet.

Yes, you really can freeze lettuce! We recommend freezing thicker lettuce, like romaine or butterhead. Keep in mind that lettuce loses some of its crispness and flavor when it freezes, so it's best to freeze lettuce for smoothies, soups and stews—not for recipes that rely on fresh lettuce leaves like salads.

What not to store with lettuce? ›

But, other vegetables, like lettuce and cucumbers, have a lot of water in them and more delicate cell walls. The ice crystals damage these vegetables so badly that they really can't be frozen without turning into mush.

However, you'll want to defrost the lettuce in a bowl or container as leaving it directly on the worktop will cause a mess since there'll be a lot of excess water from thawed lettuce. Even if you don't use all the lettuce after you have defrosted it, you'll be able to keep it in the fridge for about seven days.

But no type of lettuce can stand being frozen whole, then thawed and consumed in a salad or as a garnish. Instead, purée it into a liquid, then freeze it. While you won't be able to enjoy your leafy greens in salads, you can use them in a variety of other recipes.

Both raw and cooked leaf lettuce can be healthy, but they offer slightly different nutritional profiles. Raw lettuce retains more of its water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C, which can be diminished during cooking. However, cooking can make certain nutrients, such as beta-carotene, more accessible to the body.

There are two main ways to make lettuce water. First, you can boil lettuce leaves of your choice, remove the solids, and pour the remaining liquids into a mug to sip warm before bed. Alternatively, you can place lettuce leaves in a mug and pour boiling water over them, steeping for 5-10 minutes like a hot tea.

"If you get a whole bunch of lettuce and boil it down, you can make this chemical." A research article published in Food Science and Biotechnology in 2017 explained that lactucin, a major active compound in lactucarium, is found in higher concentrations in green romaine lettuce than in green and red lettuce varieties.

Salad greens can't take the heat of a braise, but they are tasty when gently wilted. Add them to still-warm simmered beans, lentils, grains, or roasted veggies, and the heat of the pot or pan will gently wilt them. To ensure that they don't become soggy or sad, stir them in just before serving.