Flashy Trout Back Lettuce

Latin name: Lactuca sativa var. “Flashy Trout Back”

🌱 Days to Sprout: 5-10

😋 Ready for Full Dose of plant food with true leaves or roots .5-inch long

✂️ Thin to: 1 plant per yCube

🍅 Days to Maturity: 27-55

💡 Light Zone: Medium

📏 Plant Size: 1 ft

💚 Care Level: Beginner

Native to Europe, this heirloom romaine was bred in Austria and called “Forellenschluss”. Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like fish! It is a heavily prized variety of romaine that is more tender and buttery than most Cos species, and it gets its name from the trout speckled pattern on its leaves.

Flashy Trout Back lettuce has red spots on its leaves that look like the back of a trout. This speckling is normal! It has incredibly tender and mild, sweet leaves and is comparable to romaine and butter lettuce.

Use this unique lettuce as a replacement for typical romaine and as a base green in salads for a gourmet experience.

💡Temperature: Lettuce prefers cooler temperatures (60-70°F), and if placed in higher temperatures, it will turn bitter and bolt.

✂️ Pruning: Check the roots monthly and trim any that are brown or extending past the yPod. To delay bolting, cut yellow-flowering stems as they appear.

🔎 Plant Health: Aphids are a common pest, but you can use our prevention tricks to keep pests at bay! 

🥬 Harvest: For ongoing harvest, snip the outer leaves just above the base of the plant once they reach 4 inches tall to let the inner leaves continue to grow. Leave 1/3 of the plant if you want it to keep growing. To harvest the full head, wait until it reaches maturity, then harvest from the base.

Mega Crunchy Salad with Flashy Trout Back

Recipe Source: Cookie and Katie

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

• 1 ⅓ cups water

• ½ cup raw sunflower seeds

• ½ teaspoon olive oil

• 1 small head of Flashy Trout Back (about 11 ounces), chopped into bite-sized pieces

• 1 cup shredded carrots (I used 2 large carrots, turned into ribbons with a julienne peeler and roughly chopped)

• 1 cup chopped cabbage (green or purple) or broccoli slaw

• ½ cup chopped radishes

• ½ cup dried cranberries

Zippy Cilantro Dressing

• ⅓ cup olive oil

• 3 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 medium limes)

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

• ¼ cup lightly packed fresh Cilantro

• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup

• 2 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

• ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder or regular chili powder

Instructions

1. To cook the quinoa: Combine the quinoa and water in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 10 to 15 minutes. Reduce heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer.

2. Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, and set aside to cool.

3. To toast the sunflower seeds: Combine the sunflower seeds and olive oil in a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently (careful, they’ll burn), until the seeds are fragrant and starting to turn lightly golden on the edges. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

4. In a large serving bowl, combine the prepared romaine, carrots, cabbage, radishes and cranberries. Once the quinoa and sunflower seeds have cooled, add them to the bowl as well.

5. To prepare the dressing: In a blender or small food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend well, pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary. Taste, and adjust as necessary—it should be zippy, but if it’s overwhelmingly tart, add a bit more honey. If you’d like a little more kick, add another ¼ teaspoon chili powder.

6. If you’ll be serving the salad all at once, drizzle in enough dressing to lightly coat the salad once tossed (you might not use all of it), and toss to combine. If you intend to have leftovers, store the salad separately from the dressing, and toss just before serving.

Our Plant Health & Nutrition Team thoroughly tests each variety we offer to bring you the most flavorful and high-quality plants. We regularly rotate our plant portfolio, so please note, availability varies.