Grow your own lettuce in the PlantHome: endless variety and delicious salads
When you hear the word 'lettuce', you may think of a simple head of lettuce or a bag of iceberg lettuce that isn’t very fresh anymore. Yet within the world of lettuce there is a lot more variety than you might think. You can grow no fewer than four different types of lettuce in our PlantHome alone! A well-filled salad is not only refreshing, but lettuce is also very healthy! Lettuce is a source of fiber, rich in minerals and contains few calories. Below, we would like to tell you more about the lettuce varieties that you can grow in the PlantHome and we will immediately give you some kitchen inspiration.
Butter lettuce
Butter lettuce is also popularly referred to as 'head lettuce' and is one of the best-known lettuce varieties in the Netherlands. This lettuce variety owes its name to the buttery leaves that are tender and soft in taste. This lettuce is the perfect basis for a fresh, well-filled salad.
Arugula
A real standout in the world of lettuce: that's how you could describe arugula. The leaves of this lettuce variety are incised and have a spicy and slightly nutty taste. This pronounced taste makes arugula perhaps less suitable to use as a base in a salad, but all the more suitable to add as a flavour accent. Arugula is also delicious as a garnish on a fresh pizza or pasta!
Frisée salad
Contrary to what the name suggests, frisée lettuce is not a lettuce variety, but an endive variety, also known as curly endive. The leaves of frisée are very crunchy and taste slightly more bitter than regular endive. This lettuce is also perfect to add that little bit of extra flavour to a dish; use some leaves as a crispy garnish on a creamy brie sandwich! Despite the bitter taste, you can use this lettuce as a basis for a salad. When you do this, it is best to combine it with slightly sweeter or softer ingredients, such as fruit, tomatoes and goat cheese. Another delicious recipe that you can make with this lettuce is the Lyonnaise salad. This original salad includes bacon and poached egg. That is just a little more special than the standard Dutch salad!
Colourful salad mix
Okay, okay… we might be cheating a little on this one. Our colorful salad mix is not just one type of lettuce, but a mix of different types of lettuce. This plant pad is the perfect option if you're short on time, but still want to serve a well-stocked salad. With this mix you already have different types of lettuce, each with their own taste! The colorful multi-shaped leaves also make this mix perfect to use as a garnish on dishes.
