Roast little gems with peas, peppercorns, parsley and cream

Roast little gems with peas, peppercorns, parsley and cream

Spring

You can cook lettuce in the same way you cook other leafy green vegetables – it’s just that we don’t tend to do it that much. Try wilting some lettuce leaves in a hot pan. Add a little butter, some sliced garlic, lemon zest and fresh mint and you’ll see what I mean. Little gems are firm-hearted lettuces and are particularly suited to cooking. One of my favourite ways to do that is to roast them. The high heat of the oven accentuates their sweetness and crisps their edges, so you get a bitter note in the flavour too. Garden peas, spring onions and green peppercorns are the main ingredients in the delicious sauce that gets spooned over the hot lettuces before you serve them.

2-4

Ingredients

  • 2 large little gems, halved and any tired leaves removed
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large knob of unsalted butter
  • 3–4 spring onions, sliced into 1cm (½in) pieces
  • 1 small garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • 1–2 tsp green peppercorns in brine, roughly chopped
  • 100g (3½oz) podded or frozen peas
  • 150ml (5fl oz) vegetable stock
  • 75ml (2¼fl oz) double cream
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 large handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.

Lay the lettuce halves cut sides up in a roasting tin. Trickle with the olive oil and season well with plenty of salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 15–20 minutes, until the lettuce is beginning to collapse and to char around the edges.

Meanwhile, pop a medium pan over a gentle heat. Add the butter and when it’s melted and bubbling away add the spring onions, garlic and peppercorns. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook gently for 6–8 minutes, stirring regularly, until the spring onions are softened but not coloured.

Add the peas and vegetable stock and cook for a further 3–4 minutes, then pour in the cream, stir in the mustard and bring to a gentle simmer. After a few minutes the sauce will begin to thicken. Add the finely chopped parsley leaves and season to taste.

Transfer the roasted gem halves to a warm serving platter or two individual plates. Spoon over the pea and parsley sauce and serve at once.

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