Salad

Eastside Road, May 9, 2011—

NOTHING NEW HERE, you'll say; every day there's a green salad. But look at this marvelous dinner salad L. came up with tonight!

First of all, a bed of lettuce leaves, from a head we bought in Healdsburg at the farmers' market on Saturday — from the Kiff farm. We were both immediately struck by these big, blowsy, perfect heads of butter lettuce, tinged with a hint of dark red: big floppy tender leaves, satin-smooth and delicious. I washed the leaves from one head on Sunday and rolled them up in a dishtowel which was then put into a plastic bag and set in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator; it'll keep for days.

Then on top of the lettuce that salad L. invented yesterday: tiny asparagus, scapes, favas, and the white of leek chopped fine (garlic scapes, not ramps, as I incorrectly wrote yesterday), tonight with a can of succulent chunky tuna added. A springtime Niçoise, you might say: who needs tomato, anyway?

With the salad, as you see,a couple of slices of toast, treated to olive oil and good salt from the Île de Ré.

Cheap Soave