And maybe the salad more widespread in Italian kitchens, cleanses the body and contains very few calories, adapts to many recipes and is the ideal side dish for many dishes. What are we talking about? Of the lettuce naturally!

Let's discover all the secrets, the uses that can be made of it in the kitchen and, above all, all the differences with the noble brother: the lettuce.

Lettuce is a salad a leaf cultivated and widespread practically all over Italy, with a high satiating power and a very low caloric intake, ideal therefore for those who are in diet. There are various species, with small-big differences that make each different quality unique. We discover the most famous and used in the recipes of Italian cuisine.

Lettuce and her sisters

Let's start with the one perhaps most used in the kitchen, the Romaine lettuce, with fleshy ribs, straight leaves and elongated and compact head. Its color varies from the white of the central part to the light green to the dark green of the outer leaves and the highest part. There Songino, also known as valerian, has small and dark leaves, very fleshy and with an intense flavor. There Iceberg it belongs to the cap salad families (with which it shares its shape) and has the characteristic of having a very light color and crunchy and tasty leaves. Lettuce is seasonal Pasqualina, typically spring and with a very delicate taste. The roundup of the most widespread and known lettuces cannot but end up with the Manigotto, which has a very large head, with broad leaves and a very bright green, ideal to be cooked more than to be consumed fresh.

Il Lattughino

As we have said, the little girl deserves a separate discussion, the "rich" brother of lettuce, considered one of the most popular salads. merit thanks to the young and tender leaves, to perfume intense and very delicate taste that adapts perfectly to many preparations. The lettuce it can take on different colors, from light green to dark red, depending on the sun exposure and the degree of ripeness. It is rich in mineral salts, vitamins and fiber and, having sedative and analgesic properties, it can promote muscle relaxation and sleep.

How to use them in the kitchen

Lettuce is used mainly in the kitchen as a side dish, both natural and as a base for the preparation of salads rich and imaginative and tasty unique dishes. It can also be eaten cooked, in many recipes for pasta and rice first courses, for tasty risotto, soups genuine with an ancient flavor, creams and velvety. You can keep lettuce in the fridge, in the fruit and vegetable department, for a few days, remembering to dry it well after washing it.

The lettuce, with its delicate taste, goes well with the perfections with white meats, i first dishes, i risotto, soft cheeses, a cat with potatoes, a rabbit fillet and a delicate one carpaccio of sword with zucchini and green beans. Because of its versatility it is often used as an ingredient for mixed salads with an intriguing taste. It can also be eaten alone, seasoned with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt, in fresh Sandwich and can even be grilled or baked in the oven.