Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients 

• 1 large lettuce  - approx. 1lb (500g)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pint (600ml.) white stock (chicken or vegetable stock)
• Nutmeg and sugar
• 2 oz (50g) butter or margarine
• 1 small onion
• 1 pint (600 ml.) milk
• 1 oz (25g) flour
• Garnish - grated cheese

Method 

Separate the lettuce leaves and wash then thoroughly. Blanch for 5 minutes in boiling lightly salted water, then drain and refresh in cold water. Shred the leaves and put them in a pan, together with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, grated nutmeg and sugar.

Blend the soup in a liquidiser or rub it through a sieve to make a pureѐ. Melt the butter or margarine in a pan and cook the finely chopped onion for about 5 minutes or until, soft but not browned. Stir in the flour and let it cook for a few minutes before gradually adding the milk. Blend in the lettuce pureѐ and heat the soup through, adjusting seasoning to taste if needed.

Pour into bowls and offer a bowl of grated cheese to sprinkle on.

For a more substantial soup, boiled rice can be added after the lettuce puree. To make it for a special occasion enrich the soup by adding a few table spoons of cream to the hot but not boiling soup.