In this fantastically easy butter lettuce salad, tender leaves tangle with tangy, tarragon-infused French dressing. Sliced radishes add colour and crunch, and salty shaved Parmesan provides a sublime contact.
Can a salad be beautiful? I feel this one comes shut. Made with petal-like leaves of tender butter lettuce and adorned with paper-thin slices of pink radish, Parmesan, and snipped chives, this salad is a factor of magnificence.
But, extra to the purpose, it’s additionally scrumptious and straightforward to make. That’s partly because of utilizing solely a handful of substances, and the zingy, flavorful French dressing, made with vinegar, recent lemon juice, pungent shallots, Dijon mustard, and a beneficiant quantity of candy and barely peppery, anise-scented tarragon.
This is the salad to make if you need one thing easy that may nonetheless maintain your consideration on the dinner desk.
Table of Contents
What Is Butter Lettuce?
Butter lettuce is a young, mildly flavored lettuce that’s in season in spring and summer season. You may additionally see it labeled butterhead, Bibb lettuce, and even Boston Bibb, however these are basically all the identical factor. Heads of this beautiful lettuce have a fluffy, spherical form. Often gentle inexperienced or tinged with purple, they resemble the loosely packed petals of a rose.
They’re usually grown hydroponically and offered with the roots nonetheless hooked up in a plastic clamshell container, fairly than in a bag. Because the leaves are so smooth and “buttery” in texture, they bruise simply, so that you’ll wish to be light. To put together it, simply slice off the stem finish and pull aside the leaves by hand.
Butter Lettuce Salad Ingredients
This salad makes use of easy substances that may be discovered simply at your native grocery retailer.
For the Tarragon Vinaigrette:
- White wine vinegar: With a fruity, delicate taste, white wine vinegar provides simply the correct quantity of acid to the dressing, with out overpowering the fragile taste of the lettuce.
- Lemon juice provides each citrusy taste and a gentle acidity. I usually use lemon juice in dressings to steadiness out the sharper taste of vinegar.
- Dijon Mustard is my go-to for making a tangy, tasty French dressing, including each peppery taste and bettering the feel of the dressing.
- Kosher salt and freshly floor black pepper: Salt balances the acidity of the dressing, and pepper provides it a nice hit of spice.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: I at all times use high-quality additional virgin olive oil so as to add each taste and wholesome fats to dressings. I really like our easy, delicate Italian Nocellara on this salad.
- Shallot: A tablespoon provides the correct quantity of chunk to the dressing, with out overpowering the fragile lettuce. Red onion makes a great substitute when you don’t have shallots.
- Tarragon: Sweet and peppery with a touch of anise or licorice, this herb has a singular taste that’s exhausting to match. It’s usually utilized in French delicacies, and is a conventional companion with shallots and Dijon mustard. If you’ll be able to’t discover it or don’t prefer it, be at liberty to make use of basil, parsley, mint, or a mixture. Use any leftover tarragon to make this recipe for Tarragon Chicken.
For the Salad:
- Butter lettuce: Also generally referred to as bibb or butterhead lettuce, this delicate inexperienced lettuce has tender, virtually buttery leaves which are delicate and barely candy in taste.
- Radish: Thinly sliced radishes add a peppery taste and crisp texture to this salad. They are additionally an excellent supply of antioxidants and Vitamin C!
- Chives: A member of the onion household, chives have a milder taste than bulb onions.
- Parmesan cheese: This versatile cheese provides a nutty, irresistibly salty taste to this salad. Shaving Parmesan provides it a extra subtle look, and in addition makes it enjoyable to eat!
How to Make Butter Lettuce Salad
The dressing will be made prematurely and saved as much as 3 days within the fridge. Because butter lettuce has such a fragile texture, gown this salad simply earlier than serving.
- Make Tarragon Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon mustard till mixed. Season with Kosher salt and a beneficiant quantity of freshly floor black pepper. Whisk in 3 tablespoons additional virgin olive oil till dressing is thick and emulsified. Stir in 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot and a couple of tablespoons finely chopped tarragon and whisk to mix. (Dressing will be made forward and refrigerated, lined, till able to serve.)
- Prepare lettuce leaves: First, reduce off and discard the stem ends of 8 ounces Butter lettuce. Separate the leaves and gently tear the massive, outer leaves into a couple of items. Keep the smaller internal leaves complete. Place the leaves in a salad spinner full of chilly water and gently swish leaves to take away any filth. To crisp up the leaves, add a couple of ice cubes to the water and let stand about 10 minutes (non-obligatory). Then drain and spin dry.
- Shave Parmesan and reduce radishes: Using a vegetable peeler (Here is my favorite type), shave 2 ounces Parmesan into skinny strips. Trim 2 radishes and slice them as thinly as potential utilizing both a pointy knife or a Japanese-style mandolin (with the security guard!).
- Toss French dressing with lettuce: In a big serving bowl, mix lettuce with dressing and toss gently with wood salad tongs to coat. Because butter lettuce is delicate, keep away from utilizing steel tongs, which could bruise the leaves.
- Serve: Divide lettuce amongst plates. Scatter every plate with radishes, shaved Parmesan, and 1 bunch snipped chives. Sprinkle with extra salt and freshly floor pepper and serve instantly.
Make it Your Own
As lengthy as you begin with the freshest substances, be at liberty to experiment with this recipe. Here are a couple of artistic concepts:
- Salad greens: While I really like the tender texture and delicate taste of butter lettuce, different greens may even work properly on this salad. Try purple or inexperienced leaf lettuce, or add frisee for a distinct texture.
- Dressing variations: If you want a milder dressing, omit the shallot. You may additionally stir in a teaspoon of honey to melt the acidity.
- Choose your favourite cheese: Hard cheeses like Pecorino Romano or Spanish Manchego are different nice decisions to shave over this salad. I additionally love salty ricotta salata, or, when you choose a softer texture, crumbled goat cheese.
What to Serve with Butter Lettuce Salad
This elegant however easy salad makes a beautiful starter or first course at a cocktail party. Ready in minutes, it’s additionally simple to throw collectively for a weeknight aspect salad. I feel it pairs fantastically with delicate, white fish, like this straightforward Baked Halibut with Lemon and Dill, or our buttery Baked Sole.
For a light-weight summer season lunch or dinner, serve it alongside Poached Chicken Breast with Lemon Herb-Dressing, which will be eaten both sizzling or chilly. And for the tarragon-obssessed, pair it with Tarragon Chicken with Dijon Pan Sauce, which echoes the flavour mixture of the salad dressing.
Have leftover French dressing? It’s equally fantastic drizzled over sliced tomatoes and mozzarella, grilled fish, steamed inexperienced beans, snap pea salad, or halved hard-boiled eggs. It will be refrigerated for as much as 3 days. Let it come to room temperature earlier than serving.
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For the Tarragon Dressing
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Make dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake vinegar, lemon juice, and mustard till mixed. Season with salt and a beneficiant quantity of freshly floor black pepper. Whisk in olive oil till dressing is thick and emulsified. Stir in shallot and tarragon and whisk or shake once more to mix. (Dressing will be made forward and refrigerated, lined, till able to serve.)
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Prepare lettuce leaves. First, reduce off and discard the stem ends of the lettuce. Separate the leaves and gently tear the massive, outer leaves into a couple of items. Keep the smaller internal leaves complete. Place the leaves in a salad spinner full of chilly water and gently swish leaves to take away any filth. To crisp up the leaves, add a couple of ice cubes to the water and let stand about 10 minutes. Then drain and spin dry.
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Toss dressing with lettuce. In a big serving bowl, mix lettuce with dressing and toss gently with wood salad tongs to coat. Because butter lettuce is delicate, keep away from utilizing steel tongs, which could bruise the leaves.
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Serve. Divide lettuce amongst plates. Scatter every plate with radishes, shaved Parmesan, and snipped chives. Sprinkle with extra salt and freshly floor pepper and serve instantly.
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse high quality Mediterranean substances together with the olive oil used on this recipe.
- Mix Extra Dressing: This tangy dressing can be fantastic drizzled over sliced tomatoes and mozzarella, grilled white fish, steamed inexperienced beans, or over halved hard-boiled eggs. It will be refrigerated as much as 3 days. Let it come to room temperature earlier than serving.
Calories: 161.8kcalCarbohydrates: 3.9gProtein: 6gFat: 14.1gSaturated Fat: 3.6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8.6gCholesterol: 8.5mgSodium: 213mgPotassium: 236.5mgFiber: 0.9gSugar: 0.8gVitamin A: 1638.7IUVitamin C: 5.8mgCalcium: 205.4mgIron: 1.9mg
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