Lactucis conditis
A vinaigrette for mixed lettuce greens - contributed by Gaylin J. Walli

Original recipe from De honesta voluptate:

They say the divine Augustus was preserved in his time of ill health by the use of lettuce, and no wonder, because it aids digestion and generates better blood than other vegetables. It is eaten cooked or raw. You season raw lettuce this way if it does not need washing, for that is more healthful than what has been washed in water; put in a dish, sprinkle with ground salt, pour in a little oil and more vinegar and eat once. Some add a little mint and parsley to it for seasoning so that it does not seem entirely bland and the excessive chill of the lettuce does not harm the stomach. (Milham, 213)


Modern recipe: Seasoned Lettuce - A Vinaigrette for Mixed Greens

For 160:

  • 1 1/8 cups fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 1/4 cups fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 2/3 tablespoons freshly ground pepper 
  • salt to taste 
  • 1 5/8 quarts olive oil 
  • 5/8 quarts vinegar
For 8:
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • salt to taste
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Toss with mixed European greens.

Per serving nutritional information:

604 Calories; 68g Fat (98% calories from fat); 0g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 3mg Sodium

Notes on the recipe:

As with many of Platina's recipes, the instructions or details are fairly straightforward. Take lettuce, avoid washing it if you can, sprinkle it with salt, add oil with more vinegar than oil added after, and add mint and parsley to tame some of the bad qualities of the dish. What you have is a nice mixed green salad and a simple vinaigrette.

Additional notes on this recipe may be found at: The Coronation Feast of Dag IV & Elayna II

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Milham, Mary Ella. Platina's On Right Pleasure and Good Health. University of North Carolina at Asheville: Pegasus Press, 1999. ISBN: 0866982086.

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Gaylin Walli is a technical writer and editor for a multinational software company. She spends the vast majority of her personal time researching things because her friends (and people throughout the known world) torture her with comments like "Do you know anything about..."

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