Boston Lettuce Salad with Creamy Parmesan Dressing and Parmesan Tuiles

I love a good salad and this one is the new kid in my salad rotation. I was excited to find a new recipe to try in Stir by Barbara Lynch, which is a new addition to my cookbook library.

The combination of fresh herbs and toasted almonds in the salad, along with the crispy parmesan tuiles was delightful! Following Barbara Lynch's suggestion, I added fresh herbs (fresh parsley and tarragon leaves) when I tossed the salad together. What a great, fresh taste!

I love how the Boston lettuce cradles the tuiles.

Having tried making parmesan tuiles before and failing miserably, I was so happy to find a recipe that finally yielded good results. Her recipe calls for adding a little extra-virgin olive oil to the grated parmesan and cooking them in the oven on a Silipat or silicone baking pan liner.

I made a minor change to her dressing recipe and substituted mayonnaise for the egg yolk. I have a wonderful recipe for Caesar dressing that uses mayonnaise in place of egg yolk and figured it would work just as well - and it did.

I hope you try this delicious, fresh-tasting salad! We loved it!

Boston Lettuce Salad with Creamy Parmesan Dressing and Parmesan Tuiles
Adapted from Stir by Barbara Lynch
Printable Recipe

Serves 6

Dressing:

1 heaping tablespoon good mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon Chardonnay vinegar
1 cup light olive oil or grape seed oil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and vinegar until well combined. Slowly add the olive or grapeseed oil in a thin stream until the oil is fully incorporated and emulsified. Whisk in the 1 cup of grated Parmesan. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper.

Parmesan Tuiles

1-1/2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese (I use Parmigiana Reggiano)
1-1/2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking pan with a Silipat or silicone liner. In a small bowl, combine the grated cheese with the extra-virgin olive oil. Using a heaping tablespoon or so of the cheese mixture, make small mounds on the silicone liner and gently flatten them with a spatula. Leave about 2 inches between flattened mounds. Bake until golden and bubbly - about 10-12 minutes. Allow the tuiles to cool on the baking sheet and gently remove with a thin spatula.

Salad:

3 small heads of Boston Lettuce, rinsed and spun dry
Fresh herbs such as parsley, tarragon, thyme or chives
1/2 cup chopped and toasted almonds

Place the lettuce in a large salad bowl and add enough salad dressing to coat lightly. Toss. Divide the dressed lettuce on six large salad or dinner plates and top with fresh herbs, toasted almonds and parmesan tuiles and serve. Drizzle with a little extra dressing, if desired.