Every now and then you eat something at a cafe or restaurant that’s so good, you have to reverse engineer the recipe and make it yourself. Such is the case with San Francisco mini-chain Cafe Madeleine and their excellent butter lettuce salad.
Don’t know what butter lettuce is? Sometimes it’s called butterhead, Boston lettuce or bibb. You can find it at farmer’s markets, Whole Foods, Rainbow, etc., sold with the roots still attached. It’s kind of like romaine lettuce, except it’s actually good. Fuck romaine.
Vinaigrette:
- Two parts olive oil
- One part red wine vinegar
Do you really need directions? Pour it in a bottle and shake it up!
Salad:
- Half a head of butter lettuce, washed and stems removed
- Small handful of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)
- Half a radish, thinly sliced
- 1/4 to 1/2 an avocado, sliced
- 3 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- A couple spoonfuls of goat cheese
Put everything in a bowl and drizzle some vinaigrette over the thing. Salt and pepper to taste. Boom, done!