lettuce | The Deli Truck

Growing our own salad again this summer for our clients parties. This year we have come up with a slightly different way of growing. Because this year we are almost booked out all the way through to October, we can plan our salad growing period for each individual party. For example – salad in photos below is just becoming perfect. We planted this lot specifically for a large 21st birthday party in 8 days time. Salad will then be at it’s best – so we will pick on the day of the party. It will be crunchy, fresh and additive free. Also adding beet leaves this year to our usual “green” salad. A large percentage of the young party goers attend a culinary school in Switzerland – so they know their food and expect the best.

This year we are growing yellow beets and using the leaf for our green salad selection. A slightly bitter leaf, works well with an mustard based emulsion vinaigrette, with a little bit of palm sugar added.

This years selection of leafs for our green summer salads.

Deli Truck has always been about quality food sourced responsibly. OUr aim is to cut as much of the chemical additives from our food as possible. We think the best way to get crispy, just picked, organic (no artificial fertilisers, no insecticides) lettuce leaves is to grow it ourselves. Our test patch has been hugely successful. We decided to grow all our edible leaves above ground, in terracotta pots to keep it off the ground – away from the crawlies that love our lettuce.

Growing our own organic lettuce

The taste is fantastic – we have a slightly bitter Italian variety and two other varieties of softer texture and tasting lettuce. Over the next weeks we will be supplying all our clients salads from our own garden – in Kent.