El Dulze: Roman lettuce from the heart of Murcia

Who's behind it

El Dulze Growers sits in Campo de Cartagena, in the southeast of Murcia. This is the dry, sunny corner of Spain where lettuce grows outdoors almost year-round. The business cultivates approximately 2,000 hectares itself and works with about 500 people. Around 150,000 heads of lettuce leave the warehouse daily, year-round.

To deliver year-round, El Dulze spreads cultivation across the seasons: autumn and winter in Murcia, Almería and Alicante, summer in the higher-altitude Albacete. That keeps the harvest going continuously. The business is recognized as a growers association by the region's agricultural authority.

Why this lettuce

El Dulze built its own robotics over just over twelve years, run by an internal team of 24 programmers. The forklifts in the warehouse drive autonomously. Cutting and trimming little gem hearts is automated too, and they say they were the first to do it. The heads are sorted by size and color before they go in the box.

In the kitchen that means heads of similar size and weight, with a tightly closed heart. A Roman heart like that holds its structure, even halfway through grilling or blanching, and cuts cleanly into wedges.

Little gem and Roman lettuce are the same type here: a compact romaine with thick, crisp leaves, a sweet core and little bitterness.

In your kitchen

Treat this lettuce as a vegetable. The heart handles heat, so you can grill, blanch or confit it and keep the texture. Think of a warm lettuce heart with meat, a grilled half with anchovies and Parmesan, or a Caesar where whole leaves serve as spoons.

On the menu, name the origin: Roman lettuce from Murcia, from a grower that sows and harvests its own crop.