Little gem salad with chive vinaigrette, pickled red onions & crispy breadcrumbs

This simple salad from Elly Curshen is great to serve alongside pizza – its fresh, herby, zingy is a real foil for hot, melted cheese. The addition of finely chopped chives means they are well distributed and every mouthful of salad is seasoned with their mild allium flavour.

Ingreadient

 

• 1 little gem lettuce
• 1 slice sourdough, crusts on, roughly torn
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated (to taste)
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• ½ x 20g pack chives, finely chopped to give 1-2 tbsp, plus extra longer pieces to serve
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, juice
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• ½ tsp caster or granulated sugar

Step by step

1. Start by making the pickled onions. Bring a small pan of water to a simmer, add the onion and allow to bubble gently for 2 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the lime juice, vinegar, salt and sugar. Drain the onions and add to the bowl. Mix well and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, separate the lettuce leaves and wash in a bowl of ice-cold water. Leave in the water to crisp up.
3. For the crispy breadcrumbs, blitz the sourdough to large crumbs in a food processor. Heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan, add the crumbs and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, until golden. Tip into a bowl and allow to cool and crisp.
4. For the dressing, combine the garlic and a pinch of sea salt flakes in a large mixing bowl. Using a balloon whisk, mix in the vinegar, then 2 tbsp oil and whisk to emulsify. Add the chives and season with freshly ground black pepper.
5. Drain the lettuce and dry thoroughly. When ready to serve, add the lettuce to the dressing in the bowl. Toss everything together well and coat the leaves with the chive dressing.
6. Tip the contents of the bowl onto a serving platter or plates, and top with some crispy breadcrumbs, drained pink onions, and extra chives. You may have extra onions and breadcrumbs, but they will both keep in airtight containers for 1 week – the onions in the fridge and the breadcrumbs at room temperature.