Butter Lettuce Shrimp Salad with Pears and Blue Cheese
Photo: James Carrier
Notes: Chef John Howie at Palisade smokes the hazelnuts himself, but you can occasionally find smoked hazelnuts in the supermarket. If you can't, use smoked almonds.
How to Make It
Step 1
1
Rinse and drain lettuce leaves; wrap in towels, enclose in a plastic bag, and chill at least 15 minutes or up to 2 days.
Step 2
2
Rinse shrimp with cold water and drain. Rinse and stem tomatoes; if larger than 1/2 inch, cut into quarters.
Step 3
3
Coarsely chop nuts. Rinse pears, core, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick sticks; in a bowl, mix cut fruit with lemon juice.
Step 4
4
Mound lettuce on plates or in bowls. Over lettuce, evenly scatter shrimp, tomatoes, and nuts. Top equally with pears. Ladle dressing to taste over salads and sprinkle with pepper.
Ingredients
2 heads butter lettuce (1 1/4 to 1 1/3 lb. total)
1/2 pound shelled cooked tiny shrimp
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (1/2 in. wide, if available)
1/2 cup roasted salted smoked hazelnuts or roasted salted smoked almonds (see notes)
2 firm-ripe Asian, Comice, or Bosc pears (about 1/2 lb. each)
2 tablespoons lemon juice or rice vinegar
Fresh-ground pepper
Directions
Step 1
1
Rinse and drain lettuce leaves; wrap in towels, enclose in a plastic bag, and chill at least 15 minutes or up to 2 days.
Step 2
2
Rinse shrimp with cold water and drain. Rinse and stem tomatoes; if larger than 1/2 inch, cut into quarters.
Step 3
3
Coarsely chop nuts. Rinse pears, core, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick sticks; in a bowl, mix cut fruit with lemon juice.
Step 4
4
Mound lettuce on plates or in bowls. Over lettuce, evenly scatter shrimp, tomatoes, and nuts. Top equally with pears. Ladle dressing to taste over salads and sprinkle with pepper.
