Miner's lettuce

Claytone de Cuba

What it is

Californian gold miners ate it against scurvy, which is where the English name comes from; the French name is simply wrong — the plant is from the Pacific coast of North America and honours the Virginian botanist John Clayton, not Cuba. It seeds itself so freely in a cold frame that the second year is a weeding problem, not a sowing one.

In the kitchen

Dress it at the table — the leaf is nearly all water and collapses minutes after it meets acid. The stems are as good as the leaves; do not strip them.

Goes with

Olive oil Lemon Hazelnut oil Beetroot Goat cheese Walnut Shallot Egg

In season alongside

Bamboo shoot Blue foot mushroom Celeriac Escarole Lotus root Nagaimo (Chinese yam)

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