Tip of the Iceberg Lettuce

"I think iceberg lettuce is so underrated!" is the statement Australian cook and presenter Dani Venn came out with.  At the time it made me chuckle and initially think how I could shoehorn the same sentence into a conversation.

So far I haven't been involved in a suitable conversation, but I'm going to the pub later so you never know!  In the meantime I've written this short blog because it definately got me thinking.



Iceberg for a while now has been the lettuce left in the corner and I can understand why when you eat a leaf on its own.  Low in flavour and nutritional value, on face value I can see why people want to flirt with the likes of raddicio's bitterness or rocket's peppery flavours.

Iceberg was popular in the 1980's, at the time it suited our unadventureous palates.  However, now more people are exploring different countries and eating in the many different types of different international restaurants that have opened up, our taste buds have developed too.  This is a good thing, but would account for why UK sales of iceberg dropped 35% last year, while the likes of rocket and watercress rose by 37%.

In the USA iceberg is the still the most popular lettuce where it is known as "Crisphead".  It was breed with a much higher water content to stop it spoiling when being transported and also to make it fridge friendly.  That was ok if all you want an all-year round vegetable... but it does also explain the reason behind the lack of flavour!

With everything going against it, iceberg is not a bad product if you know what you are dealing with and only a bit of culinary effort is required to make some very enjoyable dishes.  The crisp and vessel like shape of it's individual leaves is the key, making it the perfect vehicle to carry other flavours.  Fillings such as a simple creamy blue cheese such as Dorset Blue Vinney topped with crumbled bacon, or shredded chicken with aioli and cracked black pepper, or even crushed roast tomatoes with anchovies all make the humble iceberg lettuce leave a tasty delight and I encourage you to create some of your own.

However, credit where credit is due, as it was Dani Venn who inspired me to write this blog, it is only fair that I refer you to her very own use of iceberg lettuce in her Crispy Rice Paper Rolls recipe http://danivenn.com/2012/10/30/crispyrolls/   Enjoy!

Simple Sunday Snack

One of the most simple dishes I have ever done.

Bok choi cut lenth ways.

 

 

Steam for about 5-6 minutes

 

 

Serve straight away with hoi sin sauce.  Delicious!

A streaming bowl of Pho!

During a recent trip to London with my mate Andrew, a good friend who has an inquistive palate as I do, we decided to have a bite to eat before our return to Southampton.  We had decided it was going to be either Vietnamese or Peruvian and after some deliberation we went with the Vietnamese option and headed for Pho Cafe in Wardour Street.

Pho Cafe specialises in the wonderful Vietnamese noodle soup called Pho (pronounced "fuh").  Pho is a dish made up of noodles with thin slices of raw beef, you can then add chilli, coriander, bean sprouts and thai basil to personal taste.  A rich beef stock is then added which cooks through the beef and warms the noodles.  In Vietnam the same stock would be used throughout the day, so the later in the day, the more intense is the stock

I had Pho Tai which is the classic described above, while Andrew had Pho Bo Vien, where the thinly sliced beef is replaced with meat balls.  I can understand why they say pho is a Vietnamese national obsession, it is full of flavour.  I could quite easily have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

To accompany our pho's we had Goi Xoai, a spicy green mango salad, accompanied by pork, dried shrimp and peanuts.  It was the most refeshing salad I had ever eaten, it was delightful.

I look forward to visiting a Pho Cafe again sometime and try some of there other wonderful dishes, maybe even sample a cup of rare weasel coffee!