Carriage House Salad Recipe
Butterhead lettuce with cucumber, pickled cherry tomato, house-cured pork belly lardon. Finished with a creamy buttermilk dill dressing.
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Ingredients
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Salad
Buttermilk Dill Dressing
Method
Salad
Pickle cherry tomatoes
Place halved cherry tomatoes in a small bowl. Stir together rice vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Pour over tomatoes, toss gently to coat, and let sit while you prepare other components (at least 10 minutes). Drain just before assembling; reserve a teaspoon of the pickling liquid to add to the dressing if desired.
Prepare pork belly lardons
Pat pork belly dry and cut into 1/4" batons (lardons). Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add the neutral oil. Add lardons in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat renders and edges are crisp, about 8–12 minutes depending on thickness. Adjust heat as needed to avoid burning. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lardons to a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Reserve 1 teaspoon of rendered fat to finish the salad, if desired.
Assemble greens and cucumber
Tear or leave butterhead lettuce leaves whole into a large salad bowl or individual plates. Add thinly sliced cucumber. Scatter the drained pickled cherry tomato halves over the greens.
Finish and serve
Scatter warm (or room-temperature) pork belly lardons over the salad. If reserved, drizzle the teaspoon of rendered pork fat lightly over the lettuce for extra flavor. Sprinkle the finely chopped fresh dill over the top. Dress the salad with the buttermilk dill dressing (start with half the dressing and add more to taste), toss gently to coat, and serve immediately so the lardons remain slightly crisp.
Buttermilk Dill Dressing
In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk until smooth.
Add chopped fresh dill, lemon juice, minced shallot, grated garlic, Dijon mustard, and honey (if using). Whisk to combine.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust: add more buttermilk to thin, more lemon for brightness, or a pinch more honey for balance. If you reserved a teaspoon of the tomato pickling liquid or pork fat, stir it in now for extra depth (use pickling liquid sparingly to avoid making the dressing too acidic).
Cover and chill at least 10 minutes to let flavors meld (can be made up to 24 hours ahead). Stir again before using.