Equally Beautiful and Delicious!
Right now is high season for wonderful summer produce. While strolling through my local farm market I happened upon one of the prettiest heads of leaf lettuce I’ve ever seen. There is nothing fancy about this market. It’s all open air and is a simple operation, but I love how they display their lettuces. Each head sits in a small bucket which contains a few inches of ice cold water. This keeps the lettuce so fresh and crisp, and the heads look like a floral display. I’m a sucker for beautiful produce and this was one of the prettiest displays I’ve ever seen. Of course, I had to have one of those gorgeous heads of lettuce.
Ever since I read an article by Mark Bittman a few years ago, in which he recommended serving a salad by simply removing the core of the head of lettuce and gently pulling apart the leaves, I’ve been doing exactly that when I can get my hands on an exceptionally great leaf lettuce head.
I give the head of lettuce a good rinse and shake off the excess water. Then I carefully cut out the core using a small paring knife. The outside leaves will naturally fall off, but I hold the head together with one hand and give it another rinse with cold water to be sure I’ve removed any dirt or debris. I give it another good shake and then gently wrap it in a clean cloth, blotting up any excess water. I let it sit in the fridge for a while until I’m ready to serve it.
When the salad greens are this perfect, I don’t want to add much of anything to them, besides a really good vinaigrette. I start my dressing by pounding a small garlic clove into a paste with a little salt in my mortar and pestle. Then I add some red wine vinegar and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. This mellows out the garlic and removes the harshness from it.
After that it’s just a matter of whisking in sherry vinegar, a little dijon mustard, a bit of honey, extra virgin olive oil, and plenty of black pepper.
Because the lettuce leaves were so tender I thought a bit of crunch would be nice. Well, actually it was more than a bit. I sautéed a full cup of fresh breadcrumbs in olive oil, along with a quarter cup of finely grated parmigiano reggiano, and salt and pepper. I let it get beautifully browned and crisp before removing it from the heat. I’m sure you can easily imagine how delicious these cheesy bread crumbs are.
About 15 minutes before I’m ready to serve the salad, I remove the wrapped lettuce from the fridge and place it in a bowl, gently spreading out the leaves. I let it sit uncovered in the fridge for these 15 minutes and any remaining water will evaporate.
Spoon on the dressing and the breadcrumbs, and you’re ready to go. It’s so incredibly beautiful. Just look at this!
How do I like to eat it? I scoop the lettuce leaves onto my plate, pick up each leaf with my fingers, and pop it into my mouth. I happen to be one of those people who think that anything I can eat with my fingers tastes better. I swear it does. Or you may prefer to cut up the whole leaves on your plate and use a fork like a civilized person. Whatever floats your boat.
Lettuce this beautiful and delicious deserves respect. I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to serve it or eat it. Summer produce at its finest, indeed.
Leaf Lettuce with Garlic Vinaigrette and Cheese Breadcrumbs
4-6
servingsKeep your head of leaf lettuce whole, but cored, spread it out, place in a serving bowl, and spoon on a vinaigrette made with a little garlic, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, a tiny bit of dijon mustard and honey, and extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle the top with homemade crispy cheesy breadcrumbs. Talk about yummy. Oh, yeah! Plus, it's incredibly beautiful to look at.
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Ingredients
1 head the prettiest leaf lettuce you can find
1 small clove garlic, peeled
Fine sea salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon aged sherry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Black pepper
1 cup (95g) soft fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (25g) finely grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
Coarse kosher salt
Directions
- Rinse the head of lettuce in cold water and gently shake out the excess water. Place the head of lettuce on its side and using a paring knife, carefully cut out the core. Hold the head of lettuce together with your hands, being careful to not let it all fall apart. Rinse again in cold water, gently shaking off the excess water and place the lettuce on a large clean tea towel. Roll up and place in the refrigerator while you make the rest of the salad.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and the clove of garlic to a mortar. Pound it with the pestle until it becomes a paste. Spoon the red wine vinegar on top of the garlic and let sit for a minimum of 10 minutes. This will mellow the harshness of the garlic. Stir in the sherry vinegar and mustard with a fork or small whisk. Add 1/3 cup olive oil, plenty of black pepper, and stir/whisk until combined. Set aside.
- În a medium size skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Stir in the breadcrumbs, cheese, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook and stir until the crumbs are golden brown. Remove the crumbs from the skillet and let cool. Season with black pepper and check the salt level, adding more if needed.
- About 15 minutes before serving, place the lettuce into a serving bowl and gently spread apart the leaves. Place the uncovered bowl in the refrigerator. This will allow any remaining water to evaporate from the lettuce leaves. Remove the bowl of lettuce from the fridge, sprinkle a little coarse kosher salt on top, spoon on the dressing, and scatter on the bread crumbs. Serve and Enjoy!