Recipe: Garden Lettuce Soup

GARDEN LETTUCE SOUP
Source: The Wooden Spoon Book of Home-Style Soups, Stews, Chowders, Chilis and Gumbos: Favorite Recipes from the Wooden Spoon Kitchen by Marilyn M. Moore
Makes 5 cups (4 moderate servings)

My intention is the same every spring. I tell myself that I will thin my lettuce patch as soon as the plants are an inch high, leaving but one plant for every foot of space, so the mature heads will be handsomely full. As the garden grows, my resolve weakens. Why not leave the rows crowded, I reason, to provide thinnings for table use. Before long the lettuce is 12 inches high, not one, and the rows arc still crowded. I give much of the excess away, we have daily salads, and, of course, this delightful lettuce soup. It's perfect with chicken salad sandwiches on thin-sliced whole wheat bread.

1 quart homemade chicken stock or canned broth
2 1/2 cups shredded garden lettuce
3 scallions, sliced
1 carrot, diced
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
BEURRE MANIE:*
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the stock, lettuce, scallions, carrot and the peas in the 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Knead the flour and the butter together. Uncover the pot and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Drop in small pieces of the beurre manie and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is pretty when served in clear glass bowls.

*Beurre Manie: a mixture of butter and flour that is used to thicken soups, stews, and sauces.