Laitues Braisées au Jus

Laitues Braisées au Jus (braised lettuces with jus) teach one severe and useful principle: water must leave before flavor can enter. Lettuce carries more moisture than its delicate leaves suggest. Press it carelessly and the braising liquor turns pale and loose; press it properly, then cook it gently over bacon and roots, and the leaves absorb a deep, savory jus while keeping their shape.

The original assumed a stock never off the fire, a saucier ready with thickened veal gravy, and a braising pan built for dozens of lettuces. At home, one batch of Braised Vegetables (No. 275), a wide lidded sauté pan, and a small measure of good veal gravy do the same work for four. I have changed the scale, not the structure. The formal crown may become a simple timbale when dinner is less ceremonial, because that arrangement is service scaffolding; blanching, pressing, tying, the bacon-and-root braise, and the final reduction are the dish itself. One cook, one stove, one evening.

When they reach the table, the lettuces should be tender enough to yield beneath a fork yet still recognizable, their olive-green folds shining beneath a brown-gold glaze. Press them firmly between towels before tying, but never wring them. That quiet step decides everything that follows.