Who knew…..you can make soup out of lettuce!

And a really tasty soup that it is, Roasted Romaine and Tomato Soup with Crispy Prosciutto. I created this one while at the Produce First Conference at the Culinary Institute of America. This conference focused on how we as chefs can make sure that we are able to help double the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables over the next 10 years. This is part of the National Restaurants Associations key Health & Wellness initiative to work to help chefs and operators to provide more choices to the dinning public. While at the conference we each were paired with teams that included produce growers. I had the fortune of being paired with the folks from Church Bros. a major grower of lettuces. I love a challenge and when they said how about a soup using lettuce I got excited – I thought how about a play on BLT – and so the following recipe was born. We had the opportunity to be mentored by some very talented chefs that day – our team had Michael Tuohy, Executive Chef of the Grange, located in Sacramento, Ca. He was a pleasure to cook with and we had fun creating and tasting the soup that morning. So without further delay – here for you to try is a wonderful some that hints at spring when made late in winter on a cold day. Happy cooking!

Jim

Roasted Romaine & Tomato Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

Yield is 2 gallons

1 cup Leeks, sliced
½ cup Carrots, diced
½ cup Celery, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
¼ cup Olive oil
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
¾ cup Tomato paste
1 bag, 5# Cut Romaine Lettuce
2 heads Green Leaf Lettuce, chopped
6 quarts Vegetable stock
½ cup Arugula, chopped
1/2 cup Parsley, chopped
¼ cup Basil, chopped
3 cups Crushed Italian Tomatoes
To taste Salt
To taste Pepper
12 slices Prosciutto, crisped


1. In a large stock pot sweat the leeks, carrots, celery and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 8 to 10 minutes
2. Add the crushed red pepper and tomato paste and continue to cook and slowly caramelize the tomato paste coated vegetables until a deep burgundy color is achieved
3. Start to add the cut romaine and green leaf in handfuls and stir in and cook down until all the cut lettuce is incorporated and cooked down to soft
4. Add the vegetable stock to the mixture and cook for about 30 minutes at a simmer, using a stick blender puree the soup to a chunky consistency
5. Add the arugula, parsley and basil to the pot as well as the crushed tomatoes
6. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste
7. Serve with whole grain croutons and Prosciutto crisps on the side

Prosciutto Crisps
1. Place 12 slices of thin slice prosciutto on a parchment lined baking sheet pan
2. Place another sheet of parchment on top of the slices and cover with another pan to create a weighted pan sandwich
3. Place in a 350° oven and bake until crisp
4. Remove top sheet pan and parchment and allow to cool before serving
5. Cut crisp into bite size fingers and serve as a garnish for the soup


Recipe Credit: Jim Doak, Created at 2010 Produce First Conference, use with permission of author. All rights reserved.