Boston Butter Lettuce Salad with Oranges, Blue Cheese, Onions & Pecans

Butter lettuce is a fancy lettuce. (Also called Boston Bibb and sometimes called Boston Butter.) It would make for a very special salad course at your next dinner party. Even when I make this particular salad at home for myself, I insist on plating it on a classy dish and I use the silver to eat it.

The strong flavours of the red onion and blue cheese are balanced with the buttery lettuce, sweet nutty pecans, segmented oranges and the citrus dressing.

When I found a Boston butter lettuce in my latest CSA basket from Roots and Shoots Farm, I knew I was going to remake one of my favourite salads.

[You could used sliced or slivered almonds or pine nuts if you prefer. Also, Stilton or Gorgonzola would be well matched cheeses too.]

Citrus Salad with Maple Orange Dressing

SALAD:
Boston butter lettuce, leaves kept whole
oranges segments
red onion, very thinly sliced
pecans, lightly toasted
blue cheese

DRESSING:
1 part orange juice
2 part vegetable oil
1/2 part maple syrup
Dijon mustard
freshly ground black pepper
salt

Cut the rind off the orange and cut out each segment. Squeeze juice from the remains. The juice is used in the dressing.

Wash lettuce leaves and spin. Leave the lettuce leaves whole.

Arrange the leaves on open plates. Decorate each salad with orange segments. Arrange thin slices of red onion. Sprinkle with blue cheese and pecans.

Dressing: Combine dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake vigorously.

Drizzle each salad with dressing when you are ready.