RECIPE: Butter Lettuce Wedges with Mimosa Vinaigrette

For this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, I served this old-fashioned salad with smoked salmon on a platter; it was simply delicious.  I love this salad so much and I made it again tonight for dinner..

Ingredients: (Serves 6)

3 small heads Butter Lettuce, 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard, 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 1 Tablespoon shallot (finely chopped), 1 large egg (hardboiled and peeled), kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preparation:

– Trim the bases of the lettuce heads and remove any damaged leaves.  Cut each head through the core into four wedges; rinse under cold water, shake gently to get rid of excess water, set the wedges on a clean dishcloth to drain, cut side down.

– In a bowl, whisk lemon juice and mustard.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper, whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream.  Stir in parsley and shallot.

– Separate the egg white from the yolk; using the back of a spoon, press the white through a fine sieve, repeat with the yolk.  Stir the egg into the dressing and taste for seasoning.

– For individual serving, arrange two lettuce wedges on salad plate and spoon dressing over them; serve immediately.

Notes:

Adapted from Fine Cooking Thanksgiving Cookbook

For this recipe, I used the beautiful and tasty “living Butter lettuce” (roots still attached) by Windset Farms (https://www.windsetfarms.com/).  The mimosa vinaigrette is so delicious, I think it goes well with smoked salmon, prawns or avocados.

Preparation is simple and you can prep all ingredients ahead. A great tip from Fine Cooking: hard-boil the egg at least one day in advance as it’s easier to peel.

Did you know Butter lettuce is also known as Boston or Bibb lettuce?

For large hard-boiled eggs, place eggs in saucepan and add enough cold water by about 1 inch. Slowly bring water to boil over medium heat; when water has reached a boil, cover and remove from heat, let sit for approximately 12 minutes.  Transfer eggs to a colander and place under cool running water to stop the cooking process. Practice makes perfect (OO)