This butter lettuce salad with sweet summer strawberries is a scrumptious make me and eat me now salad! A perfect summertime side for festive occasions.
The butter lettuce here is tender and soft which makes it a perfect base for the juicy and sweet strawberries perfumed beautifully with a lime, raspberry vinaigrette. An impressive side for summertime entertaining.
Are Butter, Boston and Bibb the same lettuce?
They are all soft lettuce varieties known as butter or butterhead that originated from the Mediterranean basin. It is grown hydroponically and is sold with the roots attached in plastic sleeves to preserve freshness.
Known for loose, round-shaped heads of tender, sweet leaves and mild flavour. All varieties of butterhead lettuces have smooth, loosely-coiled leaves.
Boston and Bibb lettuce, the two most popular, are hybrids from original butter lettuces. Boston's leaves are wider and lighter green than Bibb's. The smaller Bibb also has red varieties that are tastier and oh so pretty.
What can I use instead of butter lettuce?
You can replace the butter lettuce with baby spinach if you like as it also has soft leaves.
let's make it!
1PREPARE INGREDIENTS
For this salad, we are going to start with the dressing to allow the flavours to develop for a much tastier salad. Add all the dressing ingredients in a glass jar and shake until emulsified.
Cut off the roots and core of your butter lettuce, then wash gently under cold running water. Then either gently pat the leaves dry with a towel or spin dry in a salad spinner. Gently tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
Wash your strawberries, hull them, then cut them in half.
Remove the papery skin from the onion, cut off the top and bottom, then dice finely. (The onion is optional and I did not add in this version).
CUT OFF THE ROOT OF YOUR BUTTER LETTUCE 
WASH LEAVES UNDER COLD WATER THEN DRY 
WASH STRAWBERRIES HULL & SLICE STRAWBERRIES
2ASSEMBLE
Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl, pour the dressing over the salad and season with salt and pepper, mix well, taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
Arrange in a salad platter and serve immediately, garnish with the extra strawberries and lime slices. Serve and enjoy.
ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO BOWL TOSS SALAD WITH VINAIGRETTE 
ARRANGE IN A PLATTER & GARNISH
Serving ideas
This light and refreshing summer salad is quite delicate so it would be best served with poultry or seafood. Perfect with an aromatic poached chicken breast or serve it with a Christmas Turkey like we did.
Notes and Tips
- Make the dressing the day before and keep it in a glass jar in the fridge this will allow the oils and vinegar to absorb all the wonderful aromatic flavour from the lime leaves.
- This salad can also be served with a balsamic glaze if you don’t have the time to make the dressing.
- Wash your strawberries first then hull and cut them as they have a tendency to become waterlogged.
- Strawberries should really be prepared on the day you plan on eating them as water will add moisture and lead to berry spoilage.
- If you absolutely HAVE TO prepare them the day before make sure that they are completely dry and store them in a closed airtight container in the crisper section of your fridge.
Looking for more festive salads?
Equipment
- Salad Spinner
Ingredients
- 150 grams butter lettuce (1 small head of lettuce)
- 250 grams strawberries (1 punnet plus a few extra to garnish)
- 1 small red onion (optional)
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds, toasted
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tbsps raspberry vinegar
- 2 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tbsp lime zest (approximately 2 limes)
- Sliced strawberries and sliced limes to garnish.
Instructions
- For this salad, we are going to start with the dressing to allow the flavours to develop for a much tastier salad. Add all the dressing ingredients in a glass jar and shake until emulsified.
- Cut off the roots and core of your butter lettuce, then wash gently under cold running water. Then either gently pat the leaves dry with a towel or spin dry in a salad spinner. Gently tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Wash your strawberries, hull them, then cut them in half.
- Remove the papery skin from the onion, cut off the top and bottom, then dice finely. (The onion is optional and I did not add in this version).
- Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl, pour the dressing over the salad and season with salt and pepper, mix well, taste and adjust seasonings according to your taste.
- Arrange in a salad platter and serve immediately, garnish with the extra strawberries and lime slices. Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
PIN ME & SAVE FOR LATER!
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