Just about everyone around here has their garden planted by now and the Farmer’s Markets are gearing up. Early produce includes sweet peas, green onions, spinach, and, of course, lots of lettuces.
Which puts me in mind of a wilted lettuce salad. This is something my mom made with the first lettuce of the season and as a kid I didn’t think much of it. Now, however, let me just say, “mmmmmmm.” It combines early greens–something people were hungry for come spring in Appalachia–and bacon. How can you go wrong?
WILTED LETTUCE SALAD
8 big handfuls of spring lettuces, washed and torn (Mom used green leaf)2 spring onions, sliced
4 strips of bacon
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsps sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Fry the bacon and set it aside to cool, then crumble it. Add the vinegar, sugar, and salt & pepper to the bacon drippings in the skillet and stir until the sugar dissolves. Toss the lettuce and onions with the still warm dressing and then top with the crumbled bacon. Seems like mom sometimes added a hard-boiled egg that had been chopped.
Man, who’s ready for lunch?!?
Meet Sarah
I made this once for a friend, who took one bite and exclaimed: ” Its hot!” (Unexpected reaction.) I love wilted lettuce, but I learned to make it as an adult, even though I grew up in the country in wild, wonderful WV!
I did the same thing with gazpacho once. Took a bite and said, “It’s cold!”
I could definitely eat my weight in wilted lettuce! One of my faves. My mom just made a great batch for me last week!
It’s even better when your mom makes it for you!
My mother used to make this all the time, and she was a Chicago gal. (Bet she got the recipe from someone on Daddy’s side of the fam.) Love it.
It’s probably universal to places with bacon and lettuce!
Sounds good, and pardon my Canadian curiosity, but doesn’t it get mushy?
No–wilty. Deliciously wilty!
Your Aunt Pat was the one to add chopped hard boiled egg and/or thinly sliced radishes. I would make a slight correction to your recipie. I used 2 Tbsp sugar to 1/4 cup vinegar. I want some… NOW!
When I researched it I found several recipes with radishes. I should have asked for YOUR recipe!