Mache Lettuce - Preparing, Cooking & Storing

Topic: Tips

How to Select
The bunches should be regular, nicely-shaped and not crushed. The leaves should be deep green, with a velvety appearance. Avoid Lamb's Lettuce with yellow leaves, a sign that it is not very fresh. When young, Lamb's Lettuce is sweet; when older, it develops a certain bitterness

How to Store
Place the Lamb's Lettuce in a plastic bag to protect it from refrigerator odors; it will keep 3-4 days in the vegetable crisper or in a cool, moist place; sprinkle it with water occasionally to refresh it.

How to Prepare
After you've washed Lamb's Lettuce that's been bought loose or in baskets, dry it delicately in a salad spinner or blot it gently.

Lamb's Lettuce essentially contains B-group vitamins and vitamin C. Since they are water soluble, they can be easily lost in water, so avoid over-washing! Rinse the Lamb's Lettuce quickly under a stream of cool water to remove any possible impurities.

Prepare it only at the last minute. The vitamins are also sensitive to air.

How to Cook
Vitamins are retained better in raw Lamb's Lettuce, but for cooked Lamb's Lettuce for use in flans, omelettes or sauces, the best method is steam-cooking. By preventing direct contact with water, steam cooking preserves the Lamb's Lettuce's nutrients. A useful tidbit: in soup, the cooking water is also consumed, so the vitamins are not lost. The trick is to not overheat the soup, since heat contributes to vitamin loss.

Cooking Tips
Lamb's Lettuce is a good partner for asparagus, red beets, celeriac, mushrooms, cabbage, frisee lettuce, green beans, walnuts, apples, grapes, tomatoes.

Seasoning: olive or walnut oil, garlic, chives, shallots, grapefruit, apple…

Add the vinaigrette or dressing to the Lamb's Lettuce only just before serving so that it retains all its crispness.

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