Steamed lettuce hearts

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 3 lettuce hearts (romaine)
• 100 g ham, diced, lean
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 50 ml vegetable stock
• some cream, if desired
• Herbs (chives, dill, parsley), finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 15 minutes

very tasty

Halve the lettuce hearts lengthwise so that the stalks are still held together. Place them cut-side up on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan, fry the ham cubes and remove them. Add the second tablespoon of butter and the sugar to the pan and let it caramelize slightly. Add the lettuce cut-side down to the pan and sauté briefly, turning twice so that the lettuce is finally back in the pan cut-side down. Deglaze with the vegetable stock and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add a little more cream and the ham cubes, if desired. Sprinkle with the herbs and serve. Alternatively, olive oil can be used instead of the butter, and white wine instead of the vegetable stock, but in this case, omit the sugar. Omitting the ham cubes and cream and using olive oil instead of butter makes a vegan version.