Little Gem Salad Recipe
Little gem caesar lettuce, marinated anchovies, watermelon radish, parmesan cheese, croutons, anchovies avocado dressing
Was this page helpful?
Help improve this recipe for others.
Send this recipe to your inbox.
We'll email it straight to you - plus weekly cooking inspiration.
Ingredients
Some product links may be affiliates. If you buy through them, you're supporting the site and Pekin may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Salad
Anchovy-Avocado Caesar Dressing
Finish & Garnish
Method
Salad
Prepare lettuces
Trim root end of each Little Gem head, remove any damaged outer leaves, then halve each head lengthwise. Keep chilled on paper towels while assembling.
Slice radish
Trim the watermelon radish and slice very thinly (use a mandoline or sharp knife) into rounds. If rounds are large, halve or quarter them to bite-size pieces.
Arrange the halved Little Gem heads on a platter or individual plates, cut-side up. Tuck watermelon radish slices between and atop the lettuce. Reserve croutons, marinated anchovies, and Parmesan for finishing.
Anchovy-Avocado Caesar Dressing
Blend dressing
In a small blender or food processor, combine the avocado (pit removed and flesh scooped), 4 anchovy fillets (from the dressing portion), garlic clove (peeled), Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, grated Parmesan, kosher salt and black pepper. Pulse to combine.
Emulsify
With the blender running on low, slowly drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil until the mixture is smooth and emulsified. If the dressing is too thick, add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a pourable Caesar-like consistency (about 1–2 tablespoons total). Taste and adjust salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed.
Finish & Assemble
Dress the salad
Lightly drizzle or spoon about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the anchovy-avocado dressing over each halved Little Gem (use more or less to taste). Gently rub the dressing into the leaves with your fingers or a spoon so inner leaves are coated but lettuce remains crisp.
Add croutons and anchovies
Scatter croutons across the heads and place marinated anchovy fillets (the 8 fillets reserved) either whole or chopped on top of the lettuce. If anchovies are particularly salty, blot them briefly on paper towel before adding.
Cheese and finishing touches
Shave or sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the salad (about 1 cup of grated or 1 oz shavings). Add lemon zest and drizzle the finishing olive oil over the assembled salad.
Serve immediately so lettuce remains crisp. Provide extra dressing and grated Parmesan at the table.