Five ways with lettuce

Lettuce isn't just for salads. Make the most of your (hopefully) home-grown stash with these five main meals.

Pork lettuce cups

Packed full of flavour, Richard Corrigan’s delicate dish marinates pork, carrots and mushrooms in a chilli, garlic, soy, oyster, and ginger sauce, then serves inside an ever-so-fresh lettuce cup. There’s no need to add salt at the end, and eating with chopsticks is much more fun.

Roast loin of lamb

A tender loin of lamb, resting on a bed of peas, smoked streaky bacon and, of course, lettuce. Add your whole shredded gem lettuce into the stock pot along with the peas, butter and plenty of fresh mint for a fantastically light and simple spring supper.

Crispy cod with dressing

The idea is super simple here. A medley of lettuce leaves – recipe author Miisa Mink suggests rocket, baby gem, ruby gem, and a round lettuce – just provides a colourful base for fish Finnish style (dust with rye flour before frying), and enjoys being drizzled in a lingonberry dressing.  

Smoked chicken salad

A real, hearty salad which would do us fine for a main meal. Ed Baines shreds a whole Cos lettuce and tosses it together with smoked chicken breast, fennel wedges, garlic, chilli, a segmented mandarin, feta cheese, avocado, and feta cheese. Blimey!

Braised duck with peas

A similar concept to the earlier roast loin of lamb recipe, here Brian Turner slow cooks his duck in a meaty stock, combining it with fresh sage, mint and parsley, frozen peas, bacon, a big wedge of butter, and a whole head of round lettuce, braised beautifully alongside the duck. 

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