Butterleaf Salad in a nest of Parmesan


When I saw Giadia's beautiful salad on television I was inspired! And with all recipes I believe you should make it exactly the way it is intended the first time and then make changes. I went for a walk that morning with my neighbor and told her about this gorgeous salad that I was going to make, she said she would love to try it. And she preceded to tell me how she had every kind of salad dressing in her refrigerator. I told her I have none! (I make mine from scratch.)

Later that day I made the salad. Well I loved the presentation but did not care for her dressing--a lemon and orange vinaigrette (although my neighbor liked it). So I experimented with some other options--a Caesar and a poppyseed (that I borrowed from my neighbor). So here is my version:

For the Parmesan Nests:
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Take 1/4 cup of good quality grated Parmesan cheese and spread in a circle (I used a tool for making eggs into a perfect circle--I am neurotic like that!)
Spread evenly and bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly brown.
Once done, remove with metal spatula and press gently using a glass to form a nest into a muffin pan. That's it!

For the salad--
Chiffonade the butterleaf lettuce. I then added very thin slices of red onion and added a little Marzetti's poppyseed dressing and topped with a slice of clementine (I sliced the membrane off one side so the color would pop. I garnished it with a purple mum which picked up the purple from the onion for a beautiful presentation. It not only looked great but tasted great! And YES, I will actually use a store bought dressing!

MY TIP: I have made the Parmesan circles before and left them flat. They make a pretty presentation for sitting on top of a toasted slice of baguette floating in french onion soup!