SALADSHARE #6 Lamb's lettuce

Lamb’s lettuce (Valerianella locusta) is an annual plant grown for its edible leaves. It is also known as a corn salad, field salad, nut lettuce and mâché (in France). It’s called lamb’s lettuce because of its resemblance to lamb’s tongue. It is often found growing as a weed in cornfields, thus the name corn salad.

Lamb’s lettuce grows wild in Europe, northern Africa and Western Asia. It is a common weed in wastelands as well as cultivated spaces. It was enjoyed as a foraged crop by European peasants and it has been eaten in the UK for centuries. It is a speciality crop grown around Nantes, North Western region of France.

It has dark green spoon-shaped leaves, which are soft in texture and nutty in flavour.

Lamb’s lettuce is most commonly used raw mixed in with other salads. It’s nice eaten with a bit of vinaigrette. It could also be eaten steamed or sautéed or blended into a soup.

Lamb’s lettuce, just as many other formerly wild greens, has a high nutrient value. It is a source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin B6, iron and potassium.