Recipe for Hot Lettuce Soup sent in by: Pat Arnell
Ingredients for Hot Lettuce Soup:
- 1 large iceberg lettuce
- 200g (8oz) potatoes
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 10ml/1 dessert spoon of olive oil
- 1 medium-sized sweet potato
- Juice of half a lemon
- 10g (½ oz) of chives (or a small bunch)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
- 1 litre (1¾ pints) chicken stock
- 450ml (¾ pint) milk
- 275ml (½ pint) single cream
Method for Hot Lettuce Soup:
- Peel and finely chop the onion and soften with a spoon of oil in a saucepan. Cover the pan, lower the heat and put the lid on the pan to help the onions to sweat and soften.
- Peel and chop the potatoes and the sweet potato into cubes about half an inch to an inch thick (about 2cm cube). Place into a bowl and set to one side.
- Shred the lettuce. You can remove the outer leaves if you wish to make sure your lettuce is clean, but this isn’t necessary.
- Make up your stock by dissolving the stock cubes in boiling water from your kettle.
- Place all your vegetables into the pan with the onions – making sure to place your potatoes at the bottom, as they take longest to cook. At this point the pan will be full to the brim, but just pour in all your stock. Also add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper (to taste) before putting the lid back on the pan. Leave to sweat down and reduce for five to ten minutes.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
- Purée by either placing the mixture into a liquidiser and blitzing the mixture until smooth, or by using a hand blender and blending while still in the pan. Be very careful at this point as either could splash back and if it’s too hot it will scald you badly.
- Once smooth, return to the heat and add the milk and cream, mixing thoroughly into your soup. Reheat gently and serve.
Notes:
This dish makes a meal on its own and, in the proportions described, will feed six easily and there’ll still be leftovers for snacking or the next day’s lunch.
The total cooking and preparation time is around 40-60 minutes. The approximate calorie intake is 600 calories per pot or 100 calories per bowl (with just milk); with cream add another 400 calories on the first total – so about 160 calories per bowl.
The taste is an interesting one with a lemon undertone.
Can you freeze this soup? We are going to make it from our allotment at school and serve it next week to the teachers?
Thanks
I’d follow the recipe up to the point where you add the milk and cream. Stop there and freeze it. On the day, defrost and warm up and then follow the recipe again.
Freezing tends to enhance the flavour of salt & pepper so go light on them, taste and season again if need be before serving.
Good luck!
We dont have iceberg this year but have lots of little gems, do you think soup would work ok with these? might give it a go anyway, only a few lettuce to loose.
I can’t see any reason that little gems wouldn’t work. Give it a go and let us know how it turns out
i tried this soup at a friends house it was remarkable. would you say that this could be used in a calorie controlled diet..
Does it have to be iceberg or could you use romania.
I’ve just made it using all the different salad leaves from my allotment ……especially endive……which has given it a lovely strong taste
This is a fantastic soup – what a delicious addition the sweet potato makes! best lettuce soup ever imho. Thank you!
THIS IS A GREAT SOUP REALLY SUMMERY AND REFRESHING WE USED LITTLE GEM LETTUCES FROM OUR ALLOTMENT. IT ALSO FREEZES VERY WELL.