Actually, really tasty, despite my low expectations! And it’s from Romania, not to be confused with being a “romaine” lettuce soup.
In my mind making “lettuce soup” seemed kind of a like a “why bother” exercise. But, I must say, this one made with a fair amount of bacon and some other tasty items, made it more than good. It was actually very good.
Do you remember back a few years ago when the nutrition experts told us that lettuce (I think they were referring to head lettuce) in much of any form was mostly worthless? Not worth eating – certainly not for any nutritional value. I never really subscribed to that evaluation, despite it coming from experts. I don’t eat a lot of head lettuce, but usually buy Romaine – have done for decades – as my salad green of choice. I love that 3-pack from Trader Joe’s that’s already washed (although opening a package recently had me rescinding that “washed” designation). In the last year or so I believe the experts have deemed lettuce having more value than thought. Good thing!
As it was, I made this on New Years’ Day – I was home by myself, and certainly thinking about all of the food indulging I’d done in the previous month, and how I should find some low-calorie soups that were more vegetable-centric. Having read recently about this lettuce soup I decided to try it. The only thing I didn’t have in my larder was fresh dill, and being a holiday, I wasn’t about to try to drive around town to find an open grocery store. So I used dried dill, and added a bunch of chives that I did have. What makes this soup is not the Romaine (obviously) but the bacon. What isn’t enhanced by the addition of bacon? The recipe is Romanian (who knew?) and came from Milk Street. As mentioned, except for the addition of dried dill and a bunch of chives, I stuck to Milk Street’s original recipe. If I’d had a leek on hand I might have added that, but I wanted to taste a true lettuce soup, not one that was blended with leek (which does have a lot of flavor).
The recipe called for trimmed Romaine. Do you think that means cutting out all of the ribs? I decided not as I wasn’t about to do all that much fussy knife work. I did with the larger outer Romaine leaves, but the rest of the head I used the lettuce and the ribs. Their recipes called for cutting the lettuce into 2″ pieces, but to me that seemed to big for an easy mouthful, so I cut them into about 1″ pieces.
The soup is easy enough to make – first rendering the bacon and setting it aside when it’s crisp, then using the bacon fat for cooking the onions, garlic and chives. Broth is added, the lettuce is slowly added in, and then at the end you mix up a bit of Greek yogurt and three egg yolks. You do need to temper those egg yolks with some of the hot broth, then carefully stir that into the hot (not boiling) soup. If you bring it to a simmer the mixture will separate. Don’t boil the soup at all – that’s the only way to maintain the nice subtle creaminess. If you don’t want to bother with yogurt, use heavy cream, then you don’t have to do the tempering step. I kept one of the green onions raw to add on top.
What’s GOOD: actually, this soup was very good – quite tasty – the lettuce itself doesn’t taste like much, but with the bacon as the flavor, the liquid (soup) is very nice. You could add cheese if you’re feeling indulgent.
What’s NOT: nothing, really. I liked the soup – it’s light, although with all the bacon and egg yolks, perhaps it’s not exactly low calorie.
Romanian Lettuce Soup with Bacon
Serves: 4
4 ounces bacon, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens reserved separately
4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bunch chives, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill stems, plus 1 cup lightly packed fresh dill leaves, chopped, reserved separately (or 1 tablespoon of dried dill)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces Romaine lettuce, or escarole, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1″ pieces
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
3 large egg yolks
1. In a large pot over medium-high, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel–lined plate; set aside. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.
2. Set the pot over medium and add the scallion whites, garlic, chives and dill stems; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, 2 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then stir in the lettuce a handful at a time. Reduce to medium and simmer gently, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the greens are slightly softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt and egg yolks until well combined.
3. While whisking the yogurt mixture, slowly ladle about 1 cup of the hot broth into the yogurt mixture to temper it. Reduce the heat under the pot to medium-low and, while whisking the soup, gradually pour in the tempered yogurt mixture. Stir in the bacon, scallion greens and dill leaves. Cook over medium-low, stirring, until the soup is lightly thickened, 2 to 4 minutes; DO NOT allow it to simmer as the creamy base will separate. Off heat, taste and season with additional salt and pepper. Garnish with some chopped green onion, if desired.
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