Pickled lettuce leaves

To take pride of place in the list of the most useful "green friends" of a person, lettuce had to go a rather long and difficult way. Initially, the green salad was cultivated exclusively for the sake of oil, which was obtained from the seeds of the plant. The taste and nutritional qualities of the lettuce leaves were appreciated by the Greeks and Romans, who began to use this plant as fresh greens, and not just as a source of oil.

To date, a huge number of varieties of green lettuce are known - at least a hundred. Moreover, they differ both in shape and texture, and in the color of the leaves, which varies from light green to maroon. Nevertheless, this product unites one property - all types of green salad are unusually tasty and very useful for human health. In addition, the insignificant calorie content of the salad contributes to the fact that this product can be safely attributed to a number of dietary directions.

As a rule, green lettuce is usually used as a fresh food, adding it to the composition of vegetable salads or snacks. However, this product, differing in a fairly neutral taste and almost complete lack of its own aroma, perfectly absorbs more saturated odors and tastes. That is why some hostesses often make pickled lettuce leaves, which are cooked very quickly and always turn out to be unusually tasty and savoury.

Best for making pickled lettuce leaves are varieties of greens that are characterized by increased density and crunchy texture - for example, Iceberg salad, which is a mini-marten with dense light leaves. Pickled Iceberg lettuce leaves can be cooked both by separating them, grinding them, and using a whole head of small size. Ready-made food turns out not only tasty, but also quite attractive.

Smoked meat, bujenin, poultry, boiled eggs with pickled lettuce leaves ultimately form nutritious dishes that will appeal to your guests. Pickled lettuce leaves can even be used as edible plates that serve cold snacks and various salads.

As a rule, fresh lettuce leaves are marinated using aromatic types of vinegar or citric acid (which is less common), salt, sugar, and often with the addition of garlic, dill and celery sticks with herbs. All fresh ingredients are laid out in layers in dishes, poured with cooked hot marinade, and then put under oppression. Pickled lettuce leaves are ready for consumption literally after a few hours - then they can be used for their intended purpose or prepared for future use.