What to do when your husband brings home 10 heads of romaine

[Luminous Animal]

for your household if two. Lettuce soup, of course!

I've made it before when I've grown my own lettuce and usually in the style of potato leak but becuase we just had potato leak, I decided to make a spicy Spanish style broth (onion, lots of pre-roasted garlic, onions sautéed with smoked paprika, tumeric and a dash of cayenne, sun dried and fresh tomatoes).

While the broth was simmering, I toasted up some vermicelli, and shredded the lettuce. Added black beans to the broth, then added the vermicelli, cooked for about 3 minutes, added the lettuce and cooked till the pasta was done. About 3 more minutes.

Ladled it up and added a dollop of homemade pesto (we always have a few rolls in the freezer-we just cut off a chunk and add it to soups, etc), a sprinkling of za'atar, and serve with a crusty bread.

It was one of the best soups I've made.

[Rod Beauvex]

1. Well...

Better than the heads of ten Romanians, at any rate.

[Luminous Animal]

3. True. I wouldn't have a clue on how to cook Romainians.

[abakan]

8. now that's funny

[mackerel]

2. That sounds sooooooo yummy!

[Warpy]

4. One quibble, it's "LEEK." They'll never get popular enough

to bring the price down if people keep calling them "leaks."

Romaine lacks the bitterness of escarole, so it might do well in the classic escarole/chicken broth soup and be more popular with kids. Another great way to cook it is to put a layer in a skillet, cover with fresh peas, put another layer on top, and add just a few drops of water to get it going. The combination of cooked lettuce plus cooked green peas is great.

A way to save it for a couple of weeks is to wash it, shake the water off but don't spin it, and lay a leaf out on a length of paper towels, rolling it up as you go. Keep it in an unsealed plastic bag and it will stay fresh for over a week.

I have a couple of baseball bats, er, leeks in the fridge and the potatoes to keep them company in the pot. It's just too damned hot to cook today, heading up to 97 or so.

Maybe tomorrow.

[Luminous Animal]

6. Oops. I am an awful misspeller when I'm on my phone.

[intaglio]

5. Obviously your husband had been to church and heard someone say ...

... Lettuce Spray

[TlalocW]

7. Your husband must be a mathematician/logician

Go to the store and buy some Romaine Lettuce. If they have bananas, buy 10.

TlalocW

[Luminous Animal]

11. : )

[Chan790]

9. I usually just wash it and bag it for salad base.

Every dinner can be a dinner salad.

[Luminous Animal]

10. We're but 2 people & as much as I like salad, 20-30 salad dinners in a row would have been too much!

He bought them because it was a great deal. 10 heads of organic romaine for $5 but he didn't think of how we were going to be able to eat them all!

[Chan790]

12. That is true...

I think the most consecutive salad meals I was able to stand was 5.

Maybe some lettuce wraps too...and the soup...but I figure that leaves at-least 2 head.