Butter Lettuce Salad Recipe

This Butter Lettuce Salad is packed with vegetables and drizzled with lemon salad dressing. It comes together in 20 minutes. Serve it with any of your meat dishes or by itself for a light lunch or dinner.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 334kcal

Author Aysegul Sanford

Ingredients

For the Lemon Vinaigrette:

½ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 small cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

For the Salad:

Water
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 bunch of asparagus - rinsed and cut into 2-inch small pieces approximately 1 lb.
1 ½ cups of peas fresh or frozen
2 heads of Butter Lettuce leaves gently removed, rinsed and dried
1 medium size English cucumber sliced thinly approximately 1 cup
4-5 radishes sliced thinly
1 cup sliced almonds lightly toasted
1 ripe avocado cut into cubes
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

Make the dressing: Place all the ingredients in a jar and give it a vigorous shake. Alternatively, you can place everything in a small bowl and whisk until emulsified.
To Blanch asparagus: Fill a large pot with water and a tablespoon of salt and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with water and ice and set it aside. Place asparagus in the hot boiling water and let cook for 3-4 minutes.
While it is cooking, fill a bowl with cold water and add some ice in it.
Using a slotted spoon transfer the asparagus into the bowl with ice water. Do not discard the boiling water.
To blanch peas: Add the peas into the now empty pot with the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the peas are softened to your liking. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice water (where the cooked asparagus is)
Drain both vegetables and set them aside.
To assemble the salad: Place the butter lettuce leaves in a large salad bowl. Add in blanched asparagus and peas, cucumber slices, radish slices, sliced almonds, avocado cubes, and parmesan cheese, if using.
Drizzle with the lemon salad dressing and give it a gentle toss. Serve.

Video

Notes

How to store? Feel free to prep and store each component in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 2 days. Since butter lettuce is so tender, the salad does not store well in the refrigerator if already tossed with the dressing and should be eaten the day of.
Be gentle as you toss the salad as the leaves of butter lettuce are more delicate compared to other types of lettuce.
While it is an optional step, I highly recommend toasting sliced almonds in an empty skillet for a few minutes. This adds an additional layer of (roasted) flavor into your salad.

Nutrition