Today’s recipe is a lettuce soup that can use any leftover bagged salad leaves, wilting lettuce, that half a bag of fresh spinach, gluts from the garden in the summer,  etc. The recipe is written by Janice Lambert, one of our lovely Facebook group members. I’ve added the boring costing and nutrition info for anyone who wants it.
So over to Janice

Lettuce Soup

I’ve always been concerned about food waste and it’s a fact that one of the most wasted foods is lettuce, so I have a fantastic lettuce soup recipe that I first made about 5 years ago.  I adapted it last year to use veg stock and vegan margarine, to make it vegan, although my original version uses real butter and chicken stock.

Use up that bag of salad leaves with this delicious lettuce soup Click To Tweet

Serves 2
priced at Asda, January 2018

2 teaspoons butter/vegan margarine, value butter £1.45/250g, 6p
1 shredded iceberg lettuce, 50p
1 chicken stock cube/veggie stock cube, 43p/10, 4p
1/2 pint / 250ml of water

Total nutrition: 148 calories, 9g carbs, 10g fat, 5g protein
Total cost 60p
The nutrition depends on how much lettuce you use, I have assumed 330g which is the weight of the iceberg in the picture, and the type of stock cube/stock, I’ve assumed a 10g vegetable stock cube. Although both items are so low in calories etc, it’s not going to make a massive difference if you use 200g or 400g.

Melt your butter/vegan margarine, on a very low heat, and add the chopped iceberg lettuce.

Sweat down, gently so that the lettuce starts cooking, for about 5 minutes, till it’s wilted(a little like spinach).

Then add your stock cube and water. Continue cooking, for another 10 minutes, on a very gentle heat. DON’T let it boil.

When it’s done, blitz with a stick blender for the tastiest and most beautiful green soup. This bowl has a teaspoon of cream swirled over the top, and a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper.  The soup doesn’t freeze well, but it takes so little time to make anyway.