A Dish of Lettuce for Deepest Summer
- medium lettuces 2
- butter a thick slice
- unsmoked bacon 2 1/2 ounces (75g), diced
- small leeks 2
- shelled peas or fava beans 1 2/3 cups (250g)
- vegetable stock 1 cup (250ml)
- Pull away and discard any tatty leaves from the lettuces, then cut each lettuce into quarters.
- Wash under cold running water to remove any trapped grit or aphids.
- Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan to which you have a lid.
- Add the diced bacon and let it stew in the butter for five minutes or so over medium heat.
- Meanwhile trim and wash the leeks and cut them into short pieces.
- Add them to the pan and continue cooking, stirring now and again, until they have started to soften.
- Add the peas or fava beans, lettuce, and stock, add a seasoning of salt and black pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Turn it down as soon as it starts to bubble furiously, then cover with a tightly fitting lid.
- Let simmer for twenty minutes, by which time the lettuce will have sunk to four silky mounds and the liquid will have almost vanished.
- Lift out the lettuce, leeks, peas, and bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a serving dish.
- If there is more than a ladleful of liquid in the pan, increase the heat and boil furiously to reduce it a little.
- Check the seasoning and pour it over the lettuce.
butter, bacon, leeks, peas, vegetable stock
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/a-dish-of-lettuce-for-deepest-summer-381681 (may not work)