Lettuce boats are crunchy, fun to eat
Several weeks ago at a restaurant, I ordered what seemed like a simple salad and was utterly charmed by its presentation. I had never seen it before: Entire halved heads of Little
Gem lettuce presented like boats on the plate, piled so neatly with thick, creamy dressing and chopped vegetables that I was tempted to pick them up and eat them out of hand.
A week or so later, a similar plate of tidy lettuce boats came to my table at another restaurant. Two encounters might not officially qualify as a trend, but I’d put my money on their star rising. Either way I can’t lose, because popular or not, they are a deliciously different way to eat fresh vegetables — uncomplicated, crisp and creamy —
like a modern reboot of an iceberg wedge salad.
For this version, you can use either Little Gem lettuce or large heads of endive — both have the firm, tightly packed leaves that make the presentation work. Each head is halved lengthwise, then made to stand on its uncut side with a little slice into it, if needed. The boats are smeared generously with a creamy yogurt-based lemon-and-feta-laced dressing, then showered simply and brightly with chopped radishes, scallion and lemon zest. If you wanted to go a step further, dill,
parsley or mint would be a nice addition, too.
There are so many ways you could run with the concept, depending on the season and what you have on hand, changing the dressing to blue cheese or
ranch, etc. For the summer, I am envisioning a topping of chopped tomato, cucumber and basil. With all of the creative possibilities, the lettuce boat salad seems destined to go viral.