Lattughe Ripiene in Brodo

Liguria's frugal masterpiece: whole leaves of cos lettuce wrapped around a delicate stuffing of veal, mortadella, Parmesan, marjoram, and egg, tied into little parcels and gently poached in a clear meat broth until tender and fragrant

Origin: Genoa, Liguria, Italy

From the journey of Lettuce.

Lattughe ripiene in brodo, stuffed lettuce in broth, is one of the quiet triumphs of the Ligurian kitchen, that great tradition of making refinement out of thrift. Genoa, a city of sailors and merchants pressed between the mountains and the sea, became a master of the stuffed vegetable and the filled pasta, and of using small quantities of precious meat to flavour something humbler and greener. Here whole tender leaves of lettuce, blanched until pliable, are wrapped around a ripieno of minced veal, mortadella, soft bread soaked in milk, grated Parmesan, egg, and the marjoram that perfumes so much of Ligurian cooking, then tied or simply folded into neat bundles and poached in a good clear broth of beef or capon. The lettuce parcels swell and soften as they cook, drinking in the broth and giving back their own faint sweetness, and the dish is served in shallow bowls with a ladle of the same brodo and a dusting of Parmesan, a delicate and deeply comforting first course. It belongs to the Sunday and feast-day table of the Genoese household, and to the old logic of the cucina povera, in which nothing is wasted and the outer leaves of the lettuce, too coarse for the salad bowl, find their finest use wrapped around the meat.

Ingredients

The Parcels

  • 16 large cos (romaine) lettuce leaves, the broad outer leaves, washed
  • 1.2 litres good clear beef or capon broth

Stuffing

  • 250 g minced veal (or a mixture of veal and pork)
  • 80 g mortadella, finely chopped
  • 50 g soft white bread, crusts removed, soaked in 4 tbsp milk and squeezed
  • 50 g Parmesan, freshly grated, plus extra to serve
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
  • 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Blanch the lettuce leaves a few at a time for 20 to 30 seconds, just until limp and pliable, then lift them into a bowl of iced water. Drain and lay them flat on a clean tea towel to dry, patting gently. Trim away any thick central rib that would stop the leaf folding.
  2. Make the stuffing: combine the minced veal, chopped mortadella, the squeezed soaked bread, Parmesan, egg, garlic, marjoram, and nutmeg in a bowl. Season well with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly with your hands until smooth and well bound.
  3. Lay a leaf flat, place a heaped teaspoon of stuffing near the base, fold the base over the filling, fold in the sides, and roll up into a neat parcel. Repeat with the remaining leaves and stuffing. For larger leaves, overlap two leaves to make a single parcel.
  4. Bring the broth to a bare simmer in a wide pan. Lower the parcels in, seam-side down, in a single layer. Poach very gently, never at a rolling boil, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the filling is cooked through and firm.
  5. Snip away any string. Serve the parcels in warm shallow bowls with a generous ladle of the hot broth and a dusting of grated Parmesan.

Notes

The dish rests on a good broth: a homemade beef or capon stock repays the effort, since the lettuce and the broth flavour one another as they cook. Escarole or large butterhead leaves may stand in for the cos. Leftover parcels are excellent the next day, briefly reheated in the broth, and some Ligurian cooks fry cold leftover parcels in butter until golden.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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