Tiny lettuce, Big flavor. This easy, delicious salad looks gorgeous and is always craveable.
Having a party? Outdoor shindig? These little beauties are almost bit size. I like to cut them into quarters so guess can pick them up and eat them with their hands. Fun, easy, a bit of decadent finger food.
Make a double batch of this dressing to keep on hand. It's great on salad, on green beans, asparagus, & grilled fish.
Add on to this with your fave salad toppings. I keep it simple here, and the nuts really make it all sing.
Prep Time: 20 min Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
4 small heads Gem lettuce - halved or quartered
3/4 cup toasted almonds - chopped
4 oz persian cucumber - sliced
3 oz radish - sliced thin
1/4 cup parsley - chopped (and other fresh herbs like dill, basil, mint)
optional: 1/4 cup freshly grated part or pecorino
DRESSING:
1 tsp grated onion with juice (or shallot) 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp German mustard
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
DIRECTIONS:
toast your nuts in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes until golden and fragrant
cool, chop and toast with a but of olive oil and salt (and herbs if you like)
in a glass jar combine vinegar, onion (or shallots), lemon juice and salt
let marinate for 10-15 minutes minutes
while that's resting, rinse, chop, and slice your veg and herbs, removing several outer leaves of the gems that have any tears or discoloration
combine the rest of the dressing ingredients with the vinegar and lemon juice in the jar and mix well - adjust seasoning to taste
arrange the gems on your serving platter or plates, open up the leaves a bit for maximum dressing coverage and looks, top with cucumbers, radish, then nuts and fresh herbs
dress salad just before serving (and top with fresh grated cheese if you go that way)
Add any nuts you like, in place of almonds and if you want to sweeten it up, add candied nuts. No one's stopping you. Enjoy.
