Buying Lamb's Lettuce
Whether sold in bags or little baskets, Lamb's Lettuce is very fragile.
Put it into your shopping basket last, on top of everything else.

Choosing Lamb's Lettuce

• The bunches should be regular, nicely-shaped and not crushed. The leaves should be deep green, with a velvety appearance.
• Avoid Lamb's Lettuce with yellow leaves, a sign that it is not very fresh.
• When young, Lamb's Lettuce is sweet; when older, it develops a certain bitterness.
• Since it is delicate, be careful to put it on the top of your market purchases.

Storing Lamb's Lettuce
Place the Lamb's Lettuce in a plastic bag to protect it from refrigerator odours; it will keep 3-4 days in the vegetable crisper or in a cool, moist place; sprinkle it with water occasionally to refresh it.

Did you know…?
Winter Lamb's Lettuce is a darker green than spring Lamb's Lettuce, which is a paler shade.

Washing Lamb's Lettuce
Thanks to modern packaging methods, Lamb's Lettuce is picked over, cleansed of sand and pre-washed. If it is in a basket, just run it under a gentle stream of cool water to remove any grains of sand that may have remained lodged in the bunch. When bought in a bag, simply empty it as is into a salad bowl - it's ready to eat.

Drying Lamb's Lettuce
After you've washed Lamb's Lettuce that's been bought loose or in baskets, dry it delicately in a salad spinner or blot it gently.

Conserve the Vitamins
Lamb's Lettuce essentially contains B-group vitamins and vitamin C.

Since they are water soluble, they can be easily lost in water, so avoid over-washing! Rinse the Lamb's Lettuce quickly under a stream of cool water to remove any possible impurities.

Prepare it only at the last minute. The vitamins are also sensitive to air.

Vitamins are retained very well in acidic environments. Choose vinegars or lemon juice to dress the Lamb's Lettuce.

The cooking method matters
Vitamins are retained better in raw Lamb's Lettuce, but for cooked Lamb's Lettuce for use in flans, omelettes or sauces, the best method is steam-cooking. By preventing direct contact with water, steam cooking preserves the Lamb's Lettuce's nutrients. A useful tidbit: in soup, the cooking water is also consumed, so the vitamins are not lost. The trick is to not overheat the soup, since heat contributes to vitamin loss.

Cooking tips
Lamb's Lettuce is a good partner for asparagus, red beets, celeriac, mushrooms, cabbage, frisee lettuce, green beans, walnuts, apples, grapes, tomatoes.

Seasoning: olive or walnut oil, garlic, chives, shallots, grapefruit, apple…

Add the vinaigrette or dressing to the Lamb's Lettuce only just before serving so that it retains all its crispness.

Suggestions

• chop and use in omelettes, rice, etc.

• steam for a few minutes and use as you would spinach

• Cream of Lamb's Lettuce Soup - 150 g (5 oz.) Lamb's Lettuce, 200 g (7 oz.) potatoes, 50 g (3 tbsp.) butter, 250 ml (1 cup) cream, salt and pepper

•  In a soup, purée or flan, or cooked in butter… Lamb's Lettuce can also be eaten cooked. Consider it!

•  Lamb's Lettuce has a tendency to lose its colour during cooking. Therefore it should be blanched for a second in boiling salted water, then immersed into ice water so that it retains its nice appearance. If the colour doesn't come back, you can also enhance its original green by using some parsley juice.

•  You can also fry it to accentuate its crispiness, or form it into little mounds of purée to accompany foie gras.

Green Sauce for Crudités
Blend a few bunches of Lamb's Lettuce until smooth, add an egg yolk, salt and pepper and beat well. Combine with two egg whites that have beaten to soft peaks, and bind with a spoonful of light cream. Creamy, fresh and light, this green sauce is perfect with main courses or served with crudités.

See also: "salad" ideas