Chilled Creamy Lettuce Soup is a delicious recipe using one head of lettuce combined with heavy cream, chicken broth, and seasoning ingredients. Lettuce is a common ingredient for salad, especially in the summer season. However, the outer leaves and ribs usually go to waste. But such leaves are great for the soup. Salad greens such as iceberg or Romaine works fine as well.
When I informed my family about the recipe the first time, they were not convinced of the taste. On my first try, I used a lot of onion to create the spicy flavour. It was too spicy and the soup had less consistency. So, I adjusted the recipe by adding potatoes and reducing the amount of onion. It turned out great! The cooked lettuce tastes so yummy that it is a perfect chilled starter for a hot summer dinner.
What are the main ingredients?
Lettuce
The lettuce could go wilted if they are in the fridge for a long time. I only buy the lettuce when I want to make the soup. Look for clean and fresh-cut ends. Usually, the bright and crisp-looking leaves are a good sign of the quality.
Cream
Regular cream for cooking purposes is suitable for this recipe. But I prefer heavy cream or whipped cream. And, I do not use light cream for this recipe because the soup tends to be less tasty.
Potatoes
Choose potatoes that are firm, smooth, and free of sprouts. Do not use those with green in appearance. I use the yellow and petite potatoes since they have a buttery flavour with a creamy texture.
Vegetable broth
The salted broth adds a base flavour to the soup. You can also use the un-salted broth and adjust the taste at the end. Chicken broth works well for the recipe as well.
How to make the Chilled Creamy Lettuce Soup?
Preparation
Choose two small yellow potatoes and cook them in the boiling water until done. Peel the potatoes and use a spoon to smash them. Coarsely chop the lettuce and set it aside for the next step.
Cooking the soup
Heat one tablespoon butter in a pot. Add one clove of minced garlic and half yellow onion to the cooking pot. When the spicy aroma comes out, add the coarsely chopped lettuce and stir until wilted. Pour 100 ml vegetable broth and simmer uncovered for one minute. Do not cook too long as otherwise, the lettuce will lose its beautiful light green colour.
Move the lettuce into a blender to puree the soup. I work in batches to ease the process. Otherwise, it could get messed up because the vegetable puree is quite watery.
Transfer the vegetable puree back to the pot. Now add two petit mashed potatoes and 200 ml heavy cream to the cooking pot as well. Stir the soup so that everything gets well mixed and heated.
Cool and Serve the soup
Let the soup cool down to room temperature, and then place it in the fridge to chill out. When serving, add croutons as toppings and season with ¼ teaspoon black pepper. If you use unsalted broth, add some salt to taste.
Tips for the recipe
It is also possible to eat as a warm starter. If you want to increase the thickness of the soup, add more potatoes to the soup. The creamy lettuce soup is a good alternative for the winter season.
Did you make the recipe?
You can save the recipe or pin it for future cooking. I’d love to know how it turned out for you! Please let me know by leaving a review below and tag @cuisinereinvented on Instagram and hashtag it #cuisinereinvented.
Chilled Creamy Lettuce Soup
Ingredients
- 1 head lettuce
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 100 ml vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 pieces yellow petit potatoes (about the size of an egg)
- ½ bulb yellow onion,finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cook two small yellow potatoes in the boiling water until done. Peel the potatoes and use a spoon to smash them.
- Coarsely chop the lettuce and set it aside for the next step.
- Heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter on medium heat in a pot.
- When hot, add the garlic and minced onion until slightly brown.
- Add lettuce and stir until wilted.
- Add your vegetable broth and simmer uncovered for 1 minute.
- Transfer lettuce in batches to puree soup.
- Transfer back to the pot. Add heavy cream and mashed potatoes and stir until all heated.
- Let the soup cool down to room temperature, and then place it in the fridge to chill out.
- When serving, add croutons as topping and season with black pepper. If you use unsalted broth,add some salt to taste.