Salade de Laitue

　　The word laitue comes from the Latin word for milk, from the milky juices some lettuces can exude. Hearty, buttery Bibb leaves are a good example of the rich, juicy quality lettuce can have. They're so big and rich, in fact, that this salad almost qualifies as a meal in itself.

　　This salad is all about freshness. Use plenty of freshly picked fines herbes: parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil; harder herbs, such as savory, rosemary, and marjoram, would be too strong. Finish it with a squeeze of lemon juice.

　　Buy nice rounded, mature heads of Bibb lettuce, with good weight; these will have the greatest amount of tender yellow interior leaves. If the leaves have become at all soft and leathery, a rinse in cold water will refresh them.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

　　4 heads Bibb lettuce

　　Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　2 tablespoons minced shallots

　　2 tablespoons minced chives

　　1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves

　　1/4 cup tarragon leaves

　　1/4 cup chervil leaves

　　1/2 cup House Vinaigrette

　　1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

　　

Step 1

Carefully cut out the core from each head of lettuce and separate the leaves, but keep each head of lettuce together; discard any tough outer leaves. Because each head of lettuce will be reassembled, the easiest way to work is with one head at a time. First, place the leaves in a bowl of cold water to refresh them and remove any dirt, then lift out and spin-dry in a salad spinner.

　　

Step 2

Place the leaves from a single head of lettuce in a bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the shallots and chives, and 1 tablespoon each of the parsley, tarragon, and chervil. Then toss gently with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Repeat with the remaining heads.

　　

Step 3

For each serving, arrange the outer lettuce leaves as a base on the plate and rebuild each head of lettuce, ending with the smallest, most tender leaves.

　　Reprinted from Bouchon, by Thomas Keller, Copyright © 2004, published by Artisan. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.