Little Gem Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Just like Elaine from Seinfeld, I'm a sucker for a big salad.🥗😅  I know it sounds weird but I'll choose a fresh, green salad over a big fat steak every day of the week.🤷🏻‍♀️ Surely I can't be the only one who get excited about a big bowl of fresh greens loaded with seasonal vegetables, salty nuts and a sprinkling of cheese.😂  I don't even like to mask the flavors in my salad bowl with big, bold, intense dressings like ranch, thousand island or blue cheese.   A drizzle of balsamic vinegar or olive oil is all I need. 

I make a lot of salad so I've developed an appreciation for all the effort that goes into preparing fresh salads.  For starters, sourcing fresh lettuce and vegetables can be a real challenge depending on the time of year and region of the world that you live in. 🥕🥬🥦🫛🥒🌽🫑🫜 And I'm certainly guilty of bringing home fresh produce from the grocery store with the best of intentions of adding it into a nice big salad only to find them a week later, unusable in the bottom of the vegetable bin of my refrigerator.😏  And don't even get me started on the military like precision it takes to perfectly time the ripening of an avocado. 😂🥑  

Check out the amazing salads that I had while I was in New Zealand!    Shoutout to Cathy who made the top 2 and to Karen who made the amazing salad in the last picture.  You'll have to take it from me that they were even tastier than they were beautiful.😋 

These fresh New Zealand salads gave me some much new inspiration to branch out and get a little more creative with the salads that I make at home.  Sometimes I feel like I get stuck in a salad rut and I end up serving the same old go-to salad at every meal.  This Little Gem Salad hit all the key elements of a good salad.  It was super simple to make, super delicious and looked impressive enough on a plate to serve to guests.😁  

Little Gem Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
1 cup walnut halves
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small shallot, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Lemon vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper
1 yellow squash, thinly sliced
3 thin red onion slices, separated into rings
4 heads Little Gem lettuce
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

​Toast walnuts for 12 minutes at 350. Add to bowl with 1 T. oil and 1/4 t. salt.  Toss.

Combine shallot, lemon juice, vinegar and 1/4 t. salt.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Whisk in oil.  

Toss squash and onion with half of dressing.  

Divide lettuce into 4 servings.  Top with squash and onion.  Sprinkle with cheese and walnuts.  Drizzle with dressing. ​

Ciao!

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