Homegrown Recipe: Lettuce begin to make crisp Colorado summer salads

It’s time to put aside the ho-hum iceberg lettuce from California and treat your taste buds to the fresh local crop of leaf, Romaine and other diverse leaves available at farmer’s markets. Chef Jason Morse of the Valley Country Club in Aurora shared the following recipe with the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Morse recommends matching the dish with a snifter of Juniper Berry Mead from Boulder’s Redstone Meadery.

Terra Salad

1 head Colorado leaf lettuce, finely sliced

2 balls fresh mozzarella, sliced

1 ripe Colorado yellow tomato, diced

1 ripe Colorado red tomato, sliced

Prepared olive tapenade, to taste

Sea salt, to taste

white balsamic vinegar, to taste

olive oil, to taste

On a plate, place a thick slice of red tomato on top of shaved lettuce. Top this with 2 slices of mozzarella and 1/4 of the diced yellow tomato. Garnish with a small amount of olive tapenade and sprinkle lightly with sea salt, vinegar and oil. Makes four to five servings.

For more recipes using Colorado produce, visit coloradoagriculture.com.