Doddington Hall

Lettuce and Lovage Soup by Amy Claridge

Lettuces are wonderful things when fresh, local and seasonal. A dressed lettuce salad is a joy but I do find myself looking for other ways to eat them. Try this recipe, it’s very easy and has the glorious taste of summer about it and is perfect for when lettuces from the Kitchen Garden are plentiful. Try it with broad beans instead of peas, or a mix of both. This recipe uses lovage, a fabulous old herb that towers above its peers; there’s plenty growing here at Doddington. A word of warning though: this recipe is perfect for in season, fresh leafy lettuces - the type you see growing at Doddington and are sold in the farm shop. It¹s not worth doing with an out-of-season sad imported watery lettuce. This is a recipe that celebrates the lettuce!

Try lovage in other dishes that have an Asian influence - add to pastes or noodle dishes, but go easy as it is strong.

Method
Pop your onion and a little oil in a large pan, and cook over a moderate heat until soft. Add half a litre of vegetable or chicken stock and cup of peas (try the Doddington frozen peas) and bring to the boil. Bring back to a fast simmer, and add the lettuce. Simmer for five mins or so until the lettuce is wilted and the peas are soft. Add the lovage. Transfer to a processor and blitz until smooth. Return to pan, simmer and season. Serve and garnish with a lovage leaf if you like.

Ingredients
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Half a litre of veg stock or chicken stock
A generous cup of frozen peas (or fresh!)
2 small Doddington lettuces, or 1 large, of any type
6 lovage leaves - 4 for the soup, and a couple to garnish
A glug of olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Serves 2-4. (Kitchen Garden cooking 28 June 2008.)

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