Lettuce – that healthy and crisp stuff you make super healthy and crisp salads with, right? Well, not really. We managed to make a lettuce dish that is warm, savory, creamy, and full of umami. How we managed to do so? We simply stuffed it with tons of blue cheese and then seared it in a pan until the cheese caramelized. And of course, we had to introduce it to a healthy amount of tahini. Et voila: you have seared lettuce with blue cheese and tahini sauce.
The combination of tahini and blue cheese is very unconventional, and it might not be for everyone. But if you’re curious, give this a try, and let us know if you’re convinced or not.
This dish is a rare case of actual trial and error. Uri loves the combination of tahini and (everything!!!) goat cheese. When first preparing this dish, he tried 4 different versions: fresh goat cream cheese, ripe goat cheese, feta, and blue cheese. Very much to his surprise, the blue cheese was the clear winner. And he doesn’t even like blue cheese (weirdo!).
Not many people are familiar with seared lettuce. It’s been a staple in professional high-end restaurants for a good minute.
Of course, there’s always a chance Gordon Ramsay will bark at you if you serve him warm lettuce, but we believe even he will be convinced by this one.
Even though we took inspiration from high cuisine, we kept this dish super simple. You probably have most of the ingredients already sitting in your pantry. You can prepare the dish in just 10 minutes, yet people will still be super impressed with your excellent cooking skills. Serve it as a side or a starter, or make it on busy weeknights or during your lunch break when you’re working from home.
Seared Lettuce With Blue Cheese And Tahini
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized romaine lettuce heads
- 50 g tahini
- juice of ½ a lemon
- salt
- water as needed, about 30 g.
- 75 g roquefort or other blue cheese.
- olive oil
- sesame seeds for garnish black, white or mix
Instructions
- Prepare the tahini by mixing it with lemon juice and salt, then slowly adding water and stir till reaching a joghurt like consistency.
- Prepare the lettuce by removing the bottom edge, as little as possibl. Cut in half lengthwise. Carefully loosen up the leaves, and crumble the blue cheese in between the layers.
- Add a bit of olive oil into a large pan and heat up until very hot but not smoking. Add the lettuce, cut side down. After about a minute, lower the heat a little, and let cook for 2-3 more minutes. The blue cheese will start to melt, you can scrape it on the salad using a spatula, it will be caramelized and crunchy and great.
- To plate, spread a generous spoonful of tahini, top with half a lettuce (not forgetting all the crunchy cheese crumbs from the pan) then sprinkle with sesame.
Have you tried the recipe? What do you think? Tell us in the comments below and make sure to follow us on TikTok and Instagram!
Love salad? Try our Vegan Beluga Lentil Salad
