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A bowl of a little gem salad--made up of little gem lettuce, radishes, shallots, walnuts, and walnut vinaigrette
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4.75 / 4 votes

Little Gem Salad

Little Gem salad. Such an appropriate name. Made with Little Gem lettuce, radishes, shallots, walnuts, ricotta salata cheese, and walnut vinaigrette, it's truly a little gem of a salad.
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Calories: 347

Ingredients

For the walnut vinaigrette

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 large lemon)
  • 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5 grinds black pepper
  • 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
  • 1/4 cup walnut oil, plus more for drizzling, if desired

For the salad

  • 2 large or 4 small heads Little Gem lettuce*, cored, leaves left whole or torn in half, if large
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped dill
  • 3 large radishes, very thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons minced shallot
  • 8 chives, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • 1/4 cup walnut vinaigrette, plus more, to taste
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ounce ricotta salata cheese
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the walnut vinaigrette

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Still whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in both oils and continue to whisk until the dressing is completely emulsified. (Alternatively, place all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar, screw on the lid, and shake until completely emulsified.)

Make the salad

  • In a large bowl, gently toss the lettuce, parsley, dill, radishes, shallot, chives, and walnuts.
  • Drizzle the salad greens with the walnut vinaigrette and gently toss again. Season with salt and pepper and toss one last time, making sure each leaf is coated with the vinaigrette. Taste and add more vinaigrette or salt and pepper, if needed. (If you have leftover vinaigrette, you can refrigerate it in a lidded jar for up to several days.)
  • Transfer the salad to a large platter or serving bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, shave strips of ricotta salata over the top. Finish, if desired, with a drizzle of walnut oil. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 91mg | Fiber: 21g | Sugar: 13g