A Siren Song at Trader Joe’s
I was minding my own business, doing our weekly shopping at Trader Joe’s, stocking up on the staples. That’s when something caught my eye. Lush curves. A study of elegance in pale green. I knew I had to have it.
I’m talking about two perfect heads of little gem lettuce of course. I get a lot of my produce at a local market that’s right down the street. I can buy it just-in-time and not worry so much about letting stuff go bad in the fridge. But they never have little gem lettuce. It’s a cross between romaine and butter lettuce that’s become really popular in recent years due to its sweet and grassy flavor, crisp-but-not-too-crisp texture, and gorgeous leaves.
The best meals I make at home start with something I fall in love with at the market.
The Supporting Cast
I had my star but I needed a supporting cast to bring all of the elements of a great salad together. I needed more sweetness, more crunch, more zing, more je ne sais quoi to make this little gem salad sing.
A perfectly ripe tomato sitting on my countertop would provide the sweetness and a hint of acid. Red onion would work for crunch. Hard-boiled eggs would add a creamy texture for the perfect bite.
A bright, tangy lemon juice dressing would give the salad some punch. An auxiliary dressing with creme fraiche, a cultured cream similar to sour cream, and tahini, a ground sesame paste you’re most likely familiar with as a key ingredient in hummus, would add body and flavor drizzled on top.
I was feeling good about the dish but it was shaping up to have a sweet and creamy profile. It was going to need a grating of sharp, salty pecorino romano cheese and a few grinds of black pepper to be properly balanced.
Something was still missing. I started rummaging through my pantry and stumbled on a container of toasted panko that I had prepared for a meal the week before. Panko is a kind of bread crumb made from Japanese milk bread that’s been steamed, processed into flakes, and dried. It stays lighter and crunchier and absorbs less oil than your average breadcrumb. It’s great for coating fried food, but it was also just what I needed to round out the supporting cast with a little more crunch.
Little Gems with Two Dressings
This meal took me about an hour to put together, but that included actually figuring out what I was making and messing around with taking photos, so I think you could pull it off in 30 minutes or so. Here’s a short recipe in case you want to give it a go. I didn’t measure much when I made this, so measurements are very approximate. As always, taste and adjust as you go. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Makes 2 servings as a light main course
Salad
2 heads of little gem lettuce; trimmed, gently washed, and dried
1 tomato, cut into 8 wedges and then cut again into 16 bite-sized chunks
¼ red onion sliced thinly
3 hard-boiled eggs, cut into quarters
Creamy Dressing
¼ cup creme fraiche
⅛ cup tahini
1 clove garlic, grated
Juice of half of a lemon (start with less and taste)
2 pinches of flaky sea salt (start with less and taste)
⅛ cup water to loosen (add a little at a time until you like the consistency)
Lemon Dressing
Juice of half of a lemon
Pinch of flaky sea salt
10 grinds of black pepper
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp champagne or sherry vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (maybe more, depends on the size of your lemon)
Garnish
Panko, toasted in a skillet with olive oil (You only need a little bit for this recipe but 1 Tbsp oil to ¾ cup panko is a good ratio for making this)
Pecorino romano cheese
Ground black pepper
Preparation
Make the panko. Combine a ratio of ¾ cup of panko crumbs to 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, stir to distribute the oil, and turn the burner to medium low. Toast, stirring often, until the panko turns a deep golden brown. You can scale the amounts down for this dish but it keeps well if you want to just make extra.
Make the creamy dressing. Combine creme fraiche, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl. Add water a little bit at a time while whisking until the dressing is combined, smooth, and thin enough to drizzle over the salad. Don’t add all of the garlic, lemon, or salt immediately. Add some, taste, and adjust.
Make the lemon dressing. Combine lemon juice, salt, pepper, vinegar, and maple syrup in a small bowl and whisk, set aside for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle. Slowly add in olive oil while whisking until the dressing is fully combined and thickened.
Assemble and dress the salad. Pat the lettuce with paper towels to make sure it’s dry and add to a large bowl with the pieces of tomato and slices of red onion. Pour half of the lemon dressing around the edge of the bowl and then use tongs and/or your clean hands to gently pick up the dressing and evenly coat the leaves. Add more lemon dressing if needed and repeat.
Plate the salad. Spread the little gems around each plate, cup side up so they can catch more dressing. Place pieces of tomato and egg around the plate so they’re spread out and it’s easy to take a bite with all the components together.
Finish the salad. Drizzle a spoonful of the remaining lemon dressing over each plate in a circular motion, followed by a couple spoonfuls of the creamy dressing. Dust each plate with grated pecorino romano cheese, then sprinkle them with a couple pinches of toasted panko, and finish with a few grinds of black pepper.