Butterhead lettuce salad with peas and herbs: We have been hunting the worldwide web for exciting ideas for the varieties of lettuce that bloom at The Farm at Rockledge Gardens.
We will start with the butterhead lettuce. A wonderful lettuce the delicacy of which belies it being able to last in the fridge for well over a week! The Butterhead has a complex structure of nooks and crannies and lightly bitter flavour that will work well with sweet dressing or ingredients like peas. This is the reason we chose this recipe for butterhead lettuce salad with peas and herbs.
From Fine Cooking.com: This salad is best with very fresh, young peas that are tender enough to be eaten just barely blanched or even raw.
Ingredients serves 4
- 1 cup fresh shelled peas (about 1 lb. unshelled) or frozen peas, defrosted
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small head butter lettuce, washed and dried, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
- 6 medium radishes, thinly sliced
- 4 scallions (white and light-green parts), thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh chervil leaves
- 2 tablespoons very coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
- 3 oz. ricotta salata, shaved thinly with a vegetable peeler (optional)
- If using fresh peas, sample them. If they are young, sweet, and tender, keep them raw. If they are older and a bit tough, blanch them in a small pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer to cool. If using frozen peas, thaw them by leaving them at room temperature or by running them under warm water.
- In a small bowl, whisk the oil with the lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Just before serving, toss the peas in a small bowl with 1 Tbs. of the dressing. Toss the butter lettuce, radishes, scallions, and herbs in a large bowl with just enough of the remaining dressing to lightly coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Arrange the salad on individual serving plates and top with the peas and the ricotta salata (if using).
