Freezing Lettuce and Grape Leaves

If you have access to grape vines and enjoy stuffed grape leaves, it is worth picking some young fresh leaves and preserving them. The flavor will be superior to those from the store and there is something special about eating stuffed grape leaves that you picked yourself. Because the leaves grow thick and tough as the summer progresses, it is best to pick and freeze them early in the season (June is ideal), when they are young and tender. What does this have to do with lettuce? Well... lettuce is a "keeper" in the freezer, too. That's right, you can freeze lettuce! With the exception of the boiling time, the freezing process is the same. While thawed lettuce will have lost its crunch, it's perfect for dishes such as lamb fricassée or dolmades. The goal of freezing lettuce isn't to stock up for cooler months but rather as a means of coping when your fridge is bursting at the seams with it. Case in point: our vegetable garden last summer. 

Without much forethought, we planted fifteen heads of romaine in one day. It hadn't occurred to us that a staggered planting of five heads per week might be a more logical approach. Fast forward a few weeks and we suddenly had fifteen heads of lettuce ready for harvesting! Delaying the harvest wasn't an option as this would lead our lettuce to bolt and turn bitter. After giving away part of our crop to gladly accepting neighbors, we still had far more lettuce than we cared to eat during the next few days. This is when I learned that I could preserve it by freezing. Hooray! Our poor garden planning wouldn't lead to waste after all.

This type of scenario isn't only applicable to those with vegetable gardens. Just the other day, I found myself freezing lettuce after my weekly produce delivery from The Produce Box included two heads of lettuce. Our meal schedule was such that we only ate one. Had I not known how to freeze the romaine, the second head of lettuce would have wilted away in the refrigerator and been wasted. Instead, I froze it and can now look forward to using it next time I'm cooking fricassée or dolmades.

Process steps for freezing lettuce and grape leaves:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil
  
• While the water is heating, wash and separate the lettuce

• Remove the boiled lettuce and place in a strainer. Instead of a strainer, you can also opt to place the boiled lettuce in a bowl of cold water to help it cool more rapidly (blanching)
  

• Once the water reaches a boil, place the leaves (approximately 1/2 a head at one time) in the pot and boil for 2 minutes (4-5 minutes for grape leaves)

• Once cooled, layout the leaves one on top of the other and store in a freezer safe container

• Your lettuce or grape leaves are now ready to be stored in the freezer and can be enjoyed over the next twelve months (recommend using within 6 months to avoid freezer burn)