Vegetables for vitality: lettuce

There is an astonishing diversity of lettuce types and salad greens, with more appearing all the time. Tossed green salads are always more interesting, more flavourful and more nutritious when you combine the shapes, textures, hues and tastes of several varieties. Three lettuces should be the minimum. Read on to learn more about this versatile food.

Packed into 250 millilitres (one cup) of romaine lettuce:

• nine calories
• 22 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C
• the B vitamin folic acid, for protein metabolism
• carotenoids, which help prevent age-related blindness due to macular degeneration

Season

Many varieties are available in food markets throughout the year. Farmers' markets have especially fresh lettuce in summer.

What to look for

Regardless of the variety, lettuce should always look clean and fresh, with no wilted leaves or rust-coloured spots. Avoid large heads of lettuce with tough outer leaves and ribs.

Storing

• Wash lettuce before storing and dry well. Discard any wilted or discoloured outer leaves.
• Wrap loosely in paper towels, then overwrap in plastic.
• Store in the vegetable section of the refrigerator.
• Tender leaf lettuces will keep for a day or two; sturdier ones, such as romaine and iceberg, will keep well for up to four days.

Preparation

• Tear small, tender lettuce leaves by hand.
• To shred large lettuce leaves, stack several of them on a cutting board. Roll the leaves up tightly from one long end.
• Slice the roll crosswise. Shredded lettuce makes an attractive, edible bed for grilled seafood and marinated cooked meats.

Serving

• Never toss a green salad with dressing until it's time to eat or you'll end up with a soggy heap.
• To be well prepared ahead of time and to save on clean-up, mix salad dressing in the bottom of the salad bowl, top with salad greens, then refrigerate up to two hours ahead of time.
• Toss the greens and dressing together just before serving. Be careful not to drown greens in dressing – a little goes a long way.

Dressing

The classic vinaigrette blends one part vinegar to three parts olive oil. Beating them together with a fork or a whisk will emulsify them. Experiment with seasonings such as garlic, herbs, mustard or lemon juice.

• Coarsely shred a mix of sturdy, spicy lettuces, such as watercress or arugula, to use as a bed for grilled lamb chops or slices of steak.
• Use individual leaves of Belgian endive to hold a savoury dip such as herbed goat cheese as an appetizer.
• Wrap sandwich fillings, such as egg or tuna salad, in lettuce leaves instead of bread to cut down on calories and carbohydrates.
• Grill fish in a generous covering of lettuce to keep it moist. Spicier lettuces will add some flavour, too.

Lettuce was originally regarded as a weed. Today, it is cultivated in many varieties all around the world.

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