About a monday a month my mother decides she’s going to have a lifestyle change and become green and healthy, so she buys about 5 heads of lettuce, a case of eggs, yogurt, and nothing else. She then proceeds to eat the yogurt and stash the lettuce in the bottom most drawer of the fridge, along with her lifestyle change, which typically results in 4 1/2 heads of lettuce rotting and going to waste. Enter me, with a fresh bunch of basil, to reuse, reuse and recyle. Or actually, just use. (unless you count the extra space in the fridge as reducing) And by use I mean turning those green crunchy leaves into a delicious, light, creamy, peppery lettuce soup. The kind of soup that goes great before any meal and in any weather. And also the kind of soup you can make in about 15 minutes, and repeat the recipe with any kind of lettuce you have leftover, or even add spinach, or broccoli leaves, or kale, or any other green leafy stuff you have lying around which is nearing its expiration date. Because it’s green, easy and delicious! So if you also find yourself with tons of leaves in your fridge, why don’t you go and read more for the recipe?

Creamy lettuce and basil soup

1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 heads lettuce of your choice, clean and roughly chopped (decent sized ones, if you’re going for small ones, use three)
1 1/2 lt. chicken stock (adjust according to the amount of lettuce)
1/3 cup onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

In a big pot, heat the butter until melted and slightly bubbly. Add the onions and garlic powder and cook for about 5 minutes. Add a generous bunch of lettuce, and cook it until wilted and dark green. Add the chicken stock and let it come to a boil. Add the remaining lettuce and basil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then puree using a hand blender or a regular blender. Remove from the heat and add the cream, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm (with a bit of toasty bread with a little bit of goat cheese on top is a good idea).