Lettuce, cucumber and tomato.

Gingham_Ribbon · 6 June 2006 at 2:00PM

Anyone got any ideas on how to make this a bit more interesting? I'm not a salad kind of person but I got these in my veg box today and they look and smell lovely.

Apart from putting them in cheese butties I'm stumped. I don't normally use lettuce or cucumber and the thought tends to remind me of limp 'salads' from the 80s when vegetarians couldn't find anything to eat out.:D

annie-c · 6 June 2006 at 2:08PM

I don't like '80s salad' either...lol!

Personally I would use them separately. Chop the cucumber into sticks for dipping in home made hummous or something spicy like gado gado sauce.

Chop the tomatoes roughly into quarters and add to bolonese or other pasta sauce just before serving.

And, depending on what kind of lettuce, maybe use it as a wrap for chinese filling, or sandwich filling (very popular during the recent Atkins fad, and generally a lovely way to make a summer sandwich).

I think Nigel Slater did a recipe in the last Sainsbury food magazine that involved cooking(!) lettuce with peas, but that was a new one to me!

wigginsmum · 6 June 2006 at 2:08PM

I'm not a great salad fan either, but you could jazz up a salad with an interesting dressing and toasted pine nuts. Or put them in a Mexican wrap of some kind? Tomatoes and cucumber are nice sliced with a strong cheese like feta, and a salad dressing containing mint. I have little time for lettuce fullstop.

annie-c · 6 June 2006 at 2:13PM

Here's a posh recipe for 'Roulade of Lettuce' from thepassionatecook - I love this website, though I wouldn't be able to eat very well on my current budget, if I made very many of the recipes!

Floss · 6 June 2006 at 2:18PM

There's a scrummy sounding recipe for risotto & lettuce with spring onions on the BBC food website....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/risottowithlettucean_67744.shtml

Haven't tried it but it sounds lovely!

[Deleted User] · 6 June 2006 at 2:25PM

I think that doing a chopped salad makes the whole thing look and taste better. You could chop and add olives and feta cheese and serve with warm crusty rolls and a glass of white wine

ForOurFuture · 6 June 2006 at 2:33PM

You could try adding some crutons and crispy bacon. Sometimes I add a few cockles (if you like them) or perhaps some silverskin pickled onions. If I haven't got anything else I make a nice french dressing and then eat it with fresh crusty bread like kittie ... also with a nice glass of white wine!!

JoeyEmma · 6 June 2006 at 2:36PM

I make a cucumber salad by slicing a whole cucumber thinly (with a cheese slicer works best) and putting it in a bowl

I then make a dressing with a bit of vinegar (malt will do), a bit of sugar and some warm water (it helps the sugar dissolve). Taste it, it should be sweet and tangy but not ovderly strong. Cool it and then put it over the cucumber (it should just come to the top of the cucumber). Leave it for an hour before serving.

I also make a tomato and red onion salad. Slice the tomatoes and layer up with some sliced red onion rings. Season as you go and dress with some extra virgin.

everybody seems impressed when I serve these two, even though its just cucumber and tomatoes at the end of the day.

Mirtos · 6 June 2006 at 2:46PM

I grew up in Greece, and this is a staple in my house!!Finely chop the lettuce with some shredded cabbage and grated carrot (and maybe a spring onion or two?), toss with some olive oil, lemon juice and salt, and hey presto, a gorgeous cruncy salad.Use the tomato and cucumber in a greek salad with onions peppers and feta cheese, dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar - again, delicious a s a summer salad with grilled meats or fish. If there's any left over at the end of the meal, wack it on a baking tray and drizle over some honey or a sprinkling of brown sugar - bake at gas 4 for 15 mins, and you end up with gorgeously sweet roasted vegetables that are lovely on sandwiches for work the next day! (tasty and money saving. Hurrah!)

Spendless · 6 June 2006 at 3:48PM

Use the cucumber in a dip or chopped up with onion like you get in curry houses served with poppadams. Tomatoes can be used in pasta dishes. Put lettuce and tomatoe in a breadbun with a veggie burger.

Penny-Wise_4 · 6 June 2006 at 5:13PM

Cucumber & tomato are two of the main ingrediants of gazpacho - nice on a hot day, if you like cold soup: -

8 ripe tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 cucumber
1 slice of bread
1/4 cup olive oil
dash of vinager
dash of salt
dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a blender till smooth.

Add water to taste.

Garnish with sliced cucumbers or chopped green pepper.

Serves about 6

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Lettuce, cucumber and tomato.

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free