Butter Lettuce, Radish, Avocado, and Herb Salad

A clean, bright salad that’s all about balance: acid, fat, salt, sweet, crunch, freshness. Great practice for tasting and adjusting a vinaigrette.

Servings: 2 Time: 10 min

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Ingredients

Salad

• 1 small head butter lettuce, or 2 little gems
• 3–4 radishes, thinly sliced
• ½ to 1 avocado, sliced
• 1–2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (parsley, dill, chives, or mint)

Vinaigrette

• Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• Black pepper

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Method

1. Wash and dry lettuce thoroughly (a salad spinner helps — dry leaves hold dressing better).
2. Tear lettuce into bite-size pieces. Slice radishes thinly. Chop herbs.
3. Don’t slice the avocado yet — it browns. Wait until just before tossing.
4. Whisk vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl.
5. Taste the dressing. Adjust:
   • Too sour → more honey or olive oil
   • Flat → pinch of salt
   • Too oily → squeeze more lemon
6. Right before serving, slice the avocado. Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl.
7. Add half the dressing, toss gently, then add more only if needed.

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Notes

• Salad should be lightly glossy, not wet. Underdress on purpose.
• Keep all components separate until serving so lettuce doesn’t wilt.
• The vinaigrette formula (acid + mustard + sweetener + oil + salt) is the universal one — memorize the ratios.

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Source

Distilled from raw_chats/cooking_sunday_dinner_chat_transcript.md