Sick of making salad? Why not sip your greens, instead
Simple, refreshing lettuce soup among dozens of summer recipes available on free foodie website
Do you wonder about the merits of manual citrus juicers? Or how to skewer kebabs without skewering your hands? Maybe you’re dying to know how many times you can reuse frying oil. Or whether muffin liners affect the taste of the finished product.
Folks who hang out on cooking blogs do trade secrets on the darndest things. And that’s before even getting to the recipes. You’ll find it all at Serious Eats, the website that bills itself as “the destination for delicious.”
In honour of cooks who reach for their iPads instead of the book shelf, Cook This Book decided to test a recipe from a popular online foodie destination. The blog: Conversational and entertaining, Serious Eats has a simple presentation and is easy to navigate, so even beginner cooks won’t find it intimidating. There are tabs for recipes, techniques, guides to eating in different cities, and features. It’s also full of seasonal ideas. As in: 22 recipes for summer corn and 13 no-cook, no-sweat summer desserts. The quote: “The St. Lawrence Market is the place to go for some of the best pea- meal bacon sandwiches.” Yes! Toronto eateries can be found on Serious Eats, along with one of its iconic Saturday morning breakfasts. The tester: I love trying new recipes but don’t necessarily want to shell out for a whole book. Food blogs also come in handy when you have a few ingredients on hand and no idea what to do with them. Type them into the search field and get cooking. Recipes I’m dying to make: Long titles usually provoke me to click the “Next” button. But the photograph of Easy Teriyaki-Glazed Salmon, Cucumber and Avocado Rice Bowls screams yummy, and the recipe claims it only takes 15 minutes. Snap pea salad with creamy yogurt-mint dressing sounds like an ideal summer potluck dish. Easy icebox strawberry shortcake caught my eye for dessert, along with no-bake peanut butter pretzel pie.
Hot or Cold Creamy Lettuce Soup
3 Star Tested You may be tempted to grimace. I did. But this is a perfectly refreshing summer soup when served cold. It’s also pretty and simple to make. Not that I ever get tired of eating salad, but who doesn’t get fed up with making it? Soup is a tasty way to change things up and still get your greens. It’s also a good way to use those sad leaves accumulating at the bottom of your crisper. Experiment with mixed lettuces, arugula and watercress; avoid tasteless iceberg. 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, sliced 2 cups (500 mL) vegetable or chicken stock 4 cups (1L) tightly packed lettuce, core and roots trimmed and leaves torn 1/4 cup (60 mL) parsley leaves Fresh lemon juice, to taste Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste Optional garnishes: crispy crumbled bacon, halved grape tomatoes, sprigs of cilantro or parsley In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until foamy. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add stock and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 8 minutes. Add lettuce and parsley and simmer until wilted and soft, 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer to blender in batches and blend, starting at lowest speed and increasing to high, until soup is smooth and creamy. If too thick, add stock. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Garnish and serve.
Serves 4. agordon@thestar.ca