Charred Wedge Salad with Tahini Goat Yoghurt Dressing.
The crunch of the toasted breadcrumbs, the slightly salt flavour of St Helens Farm butter and yoghurt, and the tang of zaatar (a perfect mix of toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac salt and other spices) transforms simple lettuce into a side dish that’s special!
Lettuce, not usually cooked, but when it is, becomes a vessel for any favourite flavour and dressing!
I’ve kept the toppings very simple for the Charred Wedge Salad with Tahini Goat Yoghurt Dressing, but go crazy with the garnishes!
Change it up as often as the seasons.
Try toasted hazelnuts instead of the breadcrumbs, chives instead of sliced spring onions, even add bacon bits or crispy onions if you’re feeling fancy.
What would you have as a topping?
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Crispy and tangy
Dressing
What you Need.
Charred Lettuce
1 Large Head of Iceberg Lettuce
100g St Helens Farm Butter - Melted
Mix all the dressing ingredients together and whats left is smooth and tangy
Dressing
150ml Goat Yoghurt
1 Tbsp Tahini
1 Tbsp – Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Honey
1/8th Tsp Zaatar powder – See Tip Box
Pinch of Sea Salt
Golden garlicky breadcrumbs
Topping
100g Fresh Breadcrumbs – See Tip Box
50g St Helens Farm Butter
1 Garlic Clove – Minced
4 Spring Onions
Before grilling, brush with melted goats butter
How It’s Done
Topping
Place the butter into a non-stick frying pan and on a low heat, let it melt.
Once the butter has melted, add the minced garlic, and let it cook, on a low heat, for 1 minute – just to infuse the oil with the garlic
Give it a stir while it’s cooking.
Add the fresh breadcrumbs to the garlic butter mixture and on a low to medium heat, let them cook until they become a pale golden colour – stir occasionally so as not to burn the breadcrumbs.
Once the breadcrumbs are a nice golden brown, take them out of the frying pan and transfer to a plate until needed – this will stop the cooking.
Go crazy with the toppings
Dressing
Place all of the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and stir well, making sure that the Zaatar is well mixed in.
Adjust the salt seasoning to suit your taste – See Tip Box
Set the dressing aside until needed
Heat under the grill until the wedges have some colour
Charred Lettuce
Heat the grill of your oven so that its very hot.
While it’s heating up, cover a tray with foil and set it aside until needed.
Cut off the very bottom of the stalk from the lettuce, but keep as much of the stalk intact as possible.
Remove a couple of the outer leaves, and discard them.
Use a sharp knife to cut the head of lettuce into four quarters.
Lay the quarters of lettuce onto the prepared tray.
Place the melted St Helens butter into a bowl
Brush the two cut sides of the quarters of lettuce with the melted butter.
Put the tray with the lettuce under the hot grill and heat under the grill until there are brown charr marks on the lettuce pieces.
Keep a close eye on the lettuce while it’s under the grill. They can go from perfect to burnt very quickly.
Once nicely charred, remove them from the tray and place the pieces onto a serving plate.
Drizzle the yoghurt dressing over the pieces of the charred lettuce then sprinkle the breadcrumbs and the sliced spring onions over the top of the dressing.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy the different textures
Tip Box
Fresh Breadcrumbs – 1) Packet dried breadcrumbs won’t work for this recipe. Make your own from some stale bread that has been in the food processor and whizzed up until what’s remaining are breadcrumbs.
2) Collect a slice of left-over bread or crusts here or there, and freeze until needed.
Zaatar Powder – Zaatar is a perfect mix of toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac salt and other spices.
Adjust Seasoning – Adjusting the seasoning means add as much or as little salt and pepper to suit your taste buds. Don’t add too much at first, it’s easy to put in, but impossible to take out.
