Lettuce and Asparagus Bake
What does one do with end of the season lettuce that has become a bit bitter and are no longer optimal for fresh salads? You cook them, of course. Like other bitter greens that we’ve already covered (endive, radicchio) cooking tames the bitterness. Cooked lettuce dishes have been one of the revelations of our A-Z cooking project as we’ve never tried it before but have found them to be among our new favorite recipes. Here we’ve adapted a classic northern Italian cooked lettuce dish to make it vegetarian. The original recipe in Clifford Wright’s Mediterranean Vegetables used ham; we’ve swapped this out for sliced Crimini mushrooms. There is no better way to introduce yourself to cooked lettuce from the European tradition. 1 pound asparagus, trimmed of their tough bases Preheat oven to 400° F. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and sauté until they have released all their water, about 10 minutes. Add in the lettuce leaves, cover the pan, and cook until the lettuce is wilted, about 4 minutes. Add in the stock and cook until the liquid is almost completely evaporated, about 10 minutes. Towards the end you will need to stir the pan constantly to ensure that the vegetables do not scorch. Remove skillet from heat. Puree the chevre and goat milk to make a thick cream. Add to the sautéed vegetables and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus spears in a baking dish with the tops all pointing in the same direction. Pour the lettuce-mushroom sauce over the asparagus. Place in oven and bake until the bubbling, about 20 minutes.
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