This butter leaf lettuce salad is inspired by a popular salad I continuously see at many restaurants.
It highlights fresh produce, delicate buttery lettuce and is often paired with a green goddess-esque dressing. Which is essentially a creamy herby dressing.
This salad is often really expensive at restaurants and though good, I feel like it’s missing a little something so I recreated it with my own touches and I have to say it’s one of my favorite salad recipes!
Butter leaf lettuce really does have a butter-like texture. There’s something velvety about it that makes it such a nice pairing with a really creamy thick dressing.
I made a dairy free tahini dressing with dill that brightens up this salad and makes it a perfect pairing with flavors from the caraway seeds and preserved lemon.
Fix your perfect plate
What I love about salads, aside from them being packed with fiber, is that they are really adaptable.
The base of this salad is the butter leaf lettuce and the creamy dill dressing but you can great creative with the toppings if you like.
I personally love grilled asparagus in this but I have also made it adding a veggie burger or chickpea croutons!
Don’t be afraid to get creative with the veggies because like I said this “base” goes well with a lot, you could even pair with tomatoes and olives if that’s your vibe!
The Perfect Flavor Bomb
One of my secrets to adding an immense, unique bomb of flavor is adding preserved lemon!
It goes well with a lot of dishes but pairs beautifully with dill. Preserved lemon has a sweet salty tangy bite that can really bring a dish to life. I highly recommend adding it in this case if you can.
Make A Nut Free Version
This salad is already vegan, gluten free and dairy free but it can also be made nut free as well. The dressing is already nut free made with a base of tahini (omit coconut aminos if you can’t have coconut products) and you can omit the cashews and pistachios in this as well.
I like to add chickpeas or chickpea croutons in this instead of the nuts. Hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds also make a great addition to this butter leaf lettuce salad.
Hope you enjoy this salad, perfect for any time of year!
Butter Leaf Lettuce Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 head of butter leaf lettuce, rinsed and torn into bit sized pieces
- 3 tbsp carrot, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cucumber, thinly sliced or chopped
- 1 handful of asparagus stalks about 10
- 2 tsp preserved lemon, chopped
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1/4 cup cashew and pistachio nuts you can mix or use just one type
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
Creamy Dill Dressing (dairy free)
- 1 1/2 tbsp tahini
- 1-2 tbsp water adjust depending on desired consistency
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp coconut aminos
- 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tsp stoneground mustard
- 1/4 tsp sea salt or flakey salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, add asparagus, spray with avocado oil (or mix in about 2 tsps of oil) and season with a touch of sea salt and pepper.
- Roast for 20 minutes or until tender and slightly crispy.
- While the asparagus cooks, make your dressing but combining all "Creamy Dill Dressing" ingredients into a personal blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively you can add all ingredients to a bowl and mix using a small whisk or spoon.
- To a large bowl, add lettuce, onion, carrots, cucumbers, caraways and dressing and mix until well combined.
- Plate and top with roasted asparagus, nuts, preserved lemon and avocado.
- Enjoy!
Looks like an artistic masterpiece and one that everyone should have in their collection! Loved it!