Lettuce Sourdough-wich
A hearty grilled lettuce sourdough sandwich packed with lettuce, cheese and tomato, born from an attempt to get reluctant parents to eat more greens.
Remember those childhood days when parents came up with innovative ways to make you eat those dreaded greens? There’s been a role reversal at home, where I now have to find ways to get the parents to eat “foreign” vegetables — namely lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, and other vegetables they didn’t grow up with.
I get the reluctance, I really do. But as I keep reminding them, “You’ve got to eat your greens.” #Payback
With lettuce, I started with the tried-and-tested salad route, which worked brilliantly for my father. He loves salad. My mother? Not so much. She was, and continues to be, reluctant.
Determined to get her to eat it, I began tweaking a few recipes and, voila! She ate the lettuce-loaded food, and I ended up with what I’m now calling the Lettuce Series, starting with the Lettuce Sourdough-wich.
The parents have developed a taste for sourdoughs, and since all three of us love pan-grilled sandwiches, I snuck a few leaves into our breakfast sandwich one day, and, to my delight, oh delight! It’s hearty, tasty and that golden crunch when you bite in… mmmmm.
You can use vegetables other than tomato here, but there’s something pure and nostalgic about the combination of bread + cheese + tomato that I adore. Just one thing to remember: these sourdough-wiches (sandwich… sourdough-wich… you get the drift) are pretty filling. In fact, I ended up skipping lunch altogether and settled for supper and a late-night snack instead.
Things to remember
- You can use vegetables of choice, but as I’ve mentioned, tomato and cheese are pure nostalgia and classic.
- If the idea of pan grilling terrifies you, pop the sourdough-wich into a sandwich maker – whatever makes life easier!
Lettuce Sourdough-wich
Ingredients
Method
- Wash the lettuce leaves well and shake/pat them dry.
- Crumble feta cheese, slice the Smoked Cheddar and set aside.
- Butter one side each of the sourdough slices.
- Assemble all the ingredients before you start.
- Place a non-stick pan on low heat and add a pat of butter.
- As the butter begins to melt, place a slice of sourdough on the pan.
- Layer with lettuce leaves, tomato slices and cheeses.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper.
- Top with the second slice of sourdough bread and cover with a lid.
- If you don’t have a lid, use a heatproof plate and press it down using a heavy object.
- Cook for a minute or two, until the bottom slice is golden (do the corner lift test here).
- Flip over, add another pat of butter and cook the second side as you did the first.
- Once done, remove from the heat, slice into two or just bite in!
