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Green and Red Leaf Lettuces

Because you know what tastes good… Green and red leaf lettuces have a subtle taste of hazelnut much enjoyed by consumers. Tender and refreshing, its leaves are tasty in a salad and contain much more nutritional properties than other varieties of lettuce.

A natural elegance… Green and red leaf lettuces are small with large, loose, long and wavy leaves with curly edges. Red leaf is green and burgundy in colour, while green leaf is pale green with darker green highlights.

Good for you… Green and red leaf lettuces have the highest content in antioxidants of all varieties of lettuce. They contain carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lutein (4 000 µg for 100 g), both antioxidants that could reduce the risks of cancer, in higher amounts than those of Iceberg, romaine or Boston. Red leaf contains even more antioxidants than its green counterpart, and both are excellent sources of vitamins A and K and source of folate, manganese and vitamin C.

Leaf Lettuce Worldwide: Most popular in North America, leaf lettuce is also enjoyed in some European countries.

Gourmets’ Inspirations:

Like romaine or Iceberg lettuce, leaf lettuce may be used in sandwiches. However, it is most tasty in a salad, mixed with red onions or shallots and garnished with Parmesan, mozzarella, goat or blue cheese. You can also mix it with other vegetables (bell peppers, radishes, grated carrots, beets, celery, cabbage…), walnuts, croutons or hard-boiled eggs. Finally, you can mix leaf lettuce with curly endive, radicchio or other varieties of lettuce.

If your lettuce begins to wilt, you may turn it into a side dish by sweating it in butter with a thinly sliced shallot. It can also be used to season vegetable soup or turn into a creamy soup by boiling the leaves and running them through the blender, then mixing with browned onions, flour, chicken broth and paprika.

The Right Dressing:

Leaf lettuce is delicious with all kinds of dressing. In the traditional mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, you can substitute lemon juice for vinegar for a lighter taste or you can add a tad of honey for a sweeter flavour. Other substitutions are delightful: try fruited vinegars instead of the usual balsamic one or replace olive oil by walnut, sesame, peanut, sunflower, hazelnut or canola oil. For a creamier, zestier dressing, add some Dijon mustard to your oil and vinegar dressing. Leaf lettuce is also highly suited, in a creamy dressing made with blue or goat cheese.

How to Select Your Leaf Lettuce: Choose a leaf lettuce with firm, crisp leaves of a beautiful green and burgundy colour (in the case of red leaf) and neither spots nor rot.

How to Store and Prepare Your Leaf Lettuce: Leaf lettuce can be stored for about one week in a perforated plastic bag, inside your refrigerator, as it needs to breathe or it will rot. A little trick? Do not place your lettuce near fruits that release ethylene such as apples, pears or bananas to avoid premature ripening. Furthermore, wash your lettuce with cold water and just before preparing it. Add dressing only when serving. Finally, if your lettuce starts to wilt, soak it in warm and then cold water. This will produce a thermal shock that will make it a bit firmer.

Savour it… all summer and during the beginning of autumn. More specifically, from June to Mid-October (production of Quebec).

Related Products: Iceberg lettuce, romaine, green and red leaf lettuce, Boston lettuce, Spring Mix, San Marino Mix, Oriental Mix, baby spinach, arugula, escarole, curly endive, radicchio, nappa cabbage.

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