Little Gem Lettuce

Affectionately known as ‘gems’, these small lettuce are incredibly versatile and are absolutely brilliant cooked. Although available for most of the year, they are at their best in summer when grown outdoors. To get any lettuce at its best they should be picked early in the morning when the leaves are full of moisture and ideally eaten the same day. We pick all our lettuce on the day they are delivered to avoid the need for plastic wrapping and to ensure that satisfying crunch.

Ingredients:

2 heads gem lettuce

2 handfuls of mixed herbs — basil, parsley, mint, tarragon, dill, your choice

1 tbsp capers

3 anchovy fillets

1/2 clove garlic, grated

175ml extra virgin olive oil zest from 1 lemon juice of half a lemon salt and pepper to taste

Living Larder is a family-owned, Soil Association certified Organic farm. supplying local fruit and vegetable boxes. livinglarder.co.uk | Instagram: @livinglarder

Method:

Remove any tatty outer leaves and halve the gem lettuces lengthways, keep the stalk intact, and then wash well and leave to drain.

Finely chop the mixed herbs, capers, and anchovies, place in a small bowl. Add the garlic and the lemon zest, gradually stir in the olive oil and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Dry the cut side of the lettuce, brush with olive oil and season well. Place the seasoned, cut side of the lettuce on the bars of the bbq and press gently. Let the lettuce cook for one minute, flip over and cook the other side. You want the lettuce to be lightly charred and half wilted.

Remove your lettuce from the BBQ and arrange on your serving plate, cut-side up, spooning the salsa verde over top. This is particularly delicious with bbq butterfly leg of lamb, tzatziki, and flatbreads.