Luxurious Lettuce Salad
When I lived in France, I fell in love with the “salade vert” eaten at the end of the meal. When I returned to the States, I began my quest for the perfect salade vert recipe—and it took me 20 years to learn the secret. In the interim, I took lessons to master a perfect vinaigrette, imported “tres forte” Dijon mustard, bought every tender lettuce I could find and nothing got close until this accidental experiment! My favorite olive oil from Italy had just shown up in my local grocery store. I immediately bought a bottle, and even though I really wanted to drink the fruity, green, fragrant stuff directly from the bottle, I decided to make a simple salad instead. I washed and dried Boston lettuce, sprinkled the leaves with fleur de sel and drizzled it with about 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil. I tossed the salad, and came back a few minutes later ready to add some vinegar, but I greedily tasted it first. Oh, my! It was perfect! Fresh, clean and luxurious... The only catch is that you have to use the absolute best fleur de sel (sea salt from Brittany) and the best first-press olive oil.
1 head Boston or Butter lettuce, washed and dried
Fleur de Sel
Best quality olive oil (I like Monini Gran Frutto the best but Laudemino, or Lucini are also good brands that are available nationwide)
Fresh ground pepper
The method is very simple. Place the lettuce leaves in a large bowl, sprinkle with about 2 pinches of fleur de sel or coarse sea salt. Toss. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons (or more to taste) of olive oil, toss very well to coat all the leaves. Let sit for 5 minutes and toss again. Add a little more oil if the leaves are not coated but be careful not to use too much oil, otherwise the salad will be heavy and the lettuce will get soggy. Add freshly ground pepper if desired.
Serves 1-2
ALL RECIPES ©ELIZABETH KARMEL 2020