Name: Braised baby gem with minted peas Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves: 4+
Ingredients: 1tbsp olive oil; 15g butter; 2 echalion shallots, thinly sliced; 2 baby gem lettuce, sliced in half lengthways; 200ml vegetable stock; 300g petit pois; small bunch of mint, chopped

By Samuel Goldsmith published 16 August 20

Who said that baby gems had to be reserved for salads alone? Braising them is a really delicious way to cook them, and it’s oh-so easy.

Braised baby gems with minted peas make a wonderfully different side dish to accompany an array of meat, fish and veggie dishes. Why not give them a go and serve them with your next Sunday roast? The minted peas make this the perfect fit for a roast leg of lamb but it’s tasty with chicken and beef too. It’s so quick to make too, you can whip it up while the meat is resting. Try and experiment with a variety of different lettuces, such as radicchio, endive or romaine; each bring their own unique flavour profiles to a dish. In BBQ season they’re great charred over coals and braised with a little white wine. Charring the lettuce gives a lovely twist to the classic chicken Caesar salad.

Method

In a lidded sauté pan, heat the olive oil and butter on a medium heat and fry the shallots until soft.
Add the baby gem lettuce, face down and cook for a few mins to colour slightly. Gently turn them over – use a light touch as you don’t want them to break up.
Tip in the peas, stock and mint and cover with the lid. Cook for around 5-7 mins until the peas are cooked and the lettuce is tender. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

1tbsp olive oil
15g butter
2 echalion shallots, thinly sliced
2 baby gem lettuce, sliced in half lengthways
200ml vegetable stock
300g petit pois
small bunch of mint, chopped

Top Tip for making Braised baby gem with minted peas

This is a great way to use up lettuce that is looking a little limp!

Samuel Goldsmith

After leaving university with a BSc in Food from the University of Birmingham, Samuel embarked on a career in teaching; he taught cookery to teenagers at secondary school level. At the weekends, he worked as a sous chef and assisted on food photography shoots during the holidays.

After 8 years as a teacher, he decided to concentrate fully on food writing. Nearly 15 years after he began his professional food career, his work has featured in national and international publications including Waitrose Food, Australian Delicious, and the LAD Bible Group. Samuel was also a nutritional consultant for BBC’s Eat Well for Less. Throughout his career he has specialised in recipe writing and he still loves to teach people how to cook (although he’s not quite as patient as he used to be!).

After travelling Europe searching for the best coffee shops, he landed the perfect role working across woman&home, Woman’s Weekly, Country Homes & Interiors, Livingetc, Homes & Gardens and GoodtoKnow. Along with the Test Kitchen team, he produces recipes and looks after the content for these magazines and websites and others in the Future portfolio.

Away from Future, Samuel is also Co-Vice Chair of the Guild of Food Writers and a Trustee of 91 Ways CIC. He can usually be found binge-watching TV shows, wandering a museum or escaping the city for greener and sunnier climates. He also dreams of buying a run-down Italian villa and turning it into a cookery school in the sun.