Butterhead lettuce with apple dressing and black lime crumbs (Yotam Ottolenghi)
Salad, Side
Ingredients
2 heads butterhead lettuce, or other tender-leaf lettuce
70g breakfast radishes, trimmed and cut into ½cm-thick slices
For the dressing:
100ml rapeseed oil (or other neutral oil), plus 1 tbsp extra
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (80g)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and black pepper
250ml apple juice (not from concentrate)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1½ tsp dijon mustard
For the breadcrumbs:
20ml olive oil
50g panko breadcrumbs
½ black lime, ground to a powder in a spice grinder
Description
A great, leafy salad starts with a great dressing. The black limes add an earthy tang that bounces off the sweet, lemony dressing. If you can’t find them (they’re sold in most Middle Eastern food shops), add the zest of a lemon to the breadcrumbs, or use the lighter green Iranian limes. The dressing makes more than you need for this salad, but it keeps in the fridge for up to three days.
Directions
Start by making the dressing. Put a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of oil, the shallots, thyme sprigs and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring frequently, for five to seven minutes, until the shallots are translucent.
Pour in the apple juice, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium and cook until the mixture is reduced by about three-quarters and has turned syrupy.
Take off the heat and leave to cool.
Once cool, pour into a blender, add the lemon juice, mustard and a quarter-teaspoon of salt and blitz to a smooth puree, scraping down the sides as you go. With the motor running, slowly pour in the remaining oil until you have a smooth dressing.
Put the oil in a medium frying pan on medium-high heat, add the breadcrumbs, and cook, stirring often, for five minutes, until nicely toasted and fragrant.
Stir in the black lime, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then transfer to a plate to cool.
Arrange the lettuce leaves in a large serving dish and scatter the sliced radish on top.
Spoon the dressing over the leaves and serve sprinkled with the breadcrumbs.