Lettuce Soup

Lettuce Soup - Seriously Soupy

With the temperatures almost reaching 80 degrees today I was really excited to try out a lighter soup recipe - that was both easy to prepare and quick. Not quite ready for chilled soups, I decided to make a crisp Lettuce Soup after reading various recipes on Epicurious.com, The Nourishing Gourmet, and in this months issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. For my variation, I used a simple combination of onions, garlic, leeks, celery, peas, rosemary, thyme, lemon, and of course a thick head of lettuce to complete this earthy soup. A soup I never tried before, I was pleasantly surprised by its interesting flavors that I found really worked with the subtle use of thyme and rosemary and tart from the lemon. This soup can also easily be varied to include various types of lettuce leaves and herbs as well as the addition of cream or potatoes - depending on your preferences. For With the warmer days ahead, I am definitely inspired to test out and enjoy more soups like this!

Lettuce Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups vegetable stock
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced and chopped
1/2 cup of frozen peas
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, chopped - white part only
1/2 head of lettuce, cut into slices
Bunch of fresh rosemary - about 2-3 sprigs
Bunch of fresh thyme - about 2-3 sprigs
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 lemon, squeezed into the soup
salt and pepper 

Directions:
Drizzle the olive oil into a medium-sized pot. Cut up the leeks, garlic, and onion and let saute. Add the vegetable stock (or water) and let boil. Add the peas, celery, rosemary and thyme and cover. Let cook for 15 minutes. Break apart the lettuce leaves and add them to the pot. Let cook for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and blend. Drizzle with some lemon juice and top with some lettuce leaves for a garnish. Enjoy!

How do you make your lettuce soup?
Seriously Soupy Serena