Recipe: Butter Lettuce with Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette

by Peter K in Fruit, Nutrition, Peter K's Blog, Recipes, Salads, Vegetables, Vegetarian

I was cooking one Saturday afternoon with my daughter Emma when I asked her to find a good dressing for the Boston Lettuce I just bought from my local organic farm.  We found this light, lemony seasonal dressing that fit perfectly with the clementine, (or mandarin) oranges and quick roasted sunflower seeds we found in our cupboard.

Note, I served this with homemade Split Pea Soup.

What you’ll Need

Salad

butter lettuce, 1 head, rinsed and coarsely chopped

clementine, or your favorite citrus fruit, 4 whole, peeled and sliced into small sections

sunflower seeds, 2 tbsp

Dressing

olive oil, extra virgin, 1 tbsp

lemon juice, 1/4 cup fresh (I used a Meyer lemon)

honey, 2 teaspoons (I used wild)

shallot, 1 small finely chopped (you can use a small onion if you don’t have a shallot)

sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

How to Prepare

Toasting Sunflower Seeds

Spread on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and place in a 350 oven.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, checking every minute and giving them a quick shake to move them around. Make sure they don’t burn. Remove when they look toasted, brownish.

Assemble salad by topping lettuce with clementines and sunflower seeds.

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, lemon juice, honey, shallot, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Drizzle over salad and gently toss. Bon Appetit!