Braised Lettuce

By John, 15 December, 2013
Region
France
Description
Braised Lettuce

This was completely counterintuitive. We think of lettuce as the light, crisp, fresh base for a salad. The thought of cooking lettuce seems bizarre. But many times while flipping through the pages of Mastering the Art of French Cooking I have seen this recipe and I knew that one day I would attempt it. 

I did, and it's delicious!  Slow cooking in rich stock tames the lettuce and makes it fascinating and wonderful. 

Yield
4 Servings
Preparation time
2 hours
Ingredients
2 Lettuce (whole clean heads, not iceberg)
1 pn Thyme
1⁄2 Bay Leaf
1⁄4 c Dry Vermouth
1 c Beef Stock
2 T Butter
1⁄4 c onions (thinly sliced)
1⁄4 c carrots (thinly sliced)
2 sli Bacon
1 pn parsley
Instructions
  1. Plunge the heads of lettuce into ample boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes, then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking. 
  2. Cook the bacon in the boiling water for 10 minutes.
  3. Gently squeeze the water from the lettuce and the heads in half lengthwise, through the core. Fold in half crosswise and form into triangular packets.
  4. Preheat oven to 350.
  5. In a small, heavy casserole, saute the carrots and onions in the butter until tender. Add the lettuce packets and then lay the blanched bacon over them.
  6. Add the dry vermouth and enough beef stock to just cover the lettuce. Add the herbs.
  7. Bring to a simmer, then cover the casserole and cook in the oven for about 90 minutes.
  8. Gently remove the braised lettuce parcels to a warm serving dish and immediately boil down the braising liquid to thicken it for a sauce. Whisk in a tablespoon of butter to finish the sauce and serve hot.
Source
Mastering the Art of French Cooking