Little Gem Salad with Korean Radish

Have you ever had your mind blown by a salad?  Maybe it's just me - I've been known to take seconds or thirds of salads and leave the entree behind, but humble greens have been the vessel for some of the most interesting flavors I've tasted.  Still, it's not often that I'm genuinely surprised by them.

The idea of making a salad with little gem lettuce has been percolating in my head ever since I had dinner at A16 in San Francisco.  I ordered a pizza that was decent, but my friend tried their little gem salad with watermelon radish, and I was intrigued.  Since (as the name implies) the lettuce leaves are relatively small, they were served whole and tossed with frisee and radishes, causing my friend to take a fork and knife to the salad to make it bite-sized.  Somehow, as is the case with grilled romaine or iceberg wedges, there's an elegance to salads served this way, as if they assert their importance by forcing you to pick up a second utensil.

When I finally came into possession of some little gem lettuce (which came in a 4 pack along with some frisee from the 99 Cents Store - just another reason why I love that place), I did a little research to see how A16 dresses their version.  While most of the ingredients were relatively expected for an Italian restaurant - lemon, olive oil, grated romano - there was one I needed to look up: colatura.

It turns out colatura is an anchovy extract that lends a delectable savoriness to Italian dishes.  I wasn't about to go out and buy a whole bottle myself, but I realized I already had a very similar ingredient in my pantry: fish sauce.  Also made from anchovies, it's an ingredient I never would've thought to put on salad, much less an Italian one.  But mixed with garlic, olive oil, and lemon, it delivered an unbelievable umami almost on the level of cheese and managed to somehow lose its Asian and fishy essences in the mixture.  I realized I had created something not far from a non-creamy Caesar, and if I've found a way to remove a little cream from the world (second only to mayo on my hate list), then I've done my job.

Since I was already throwing in an Asian ingredient and watermelon radishes weren't in season anyway, I went with small Korean radishes that delivered a light white color with a bit more of a spicy punch than their pink and green cousins.  Somehow, it all worked together beautifully, and I can't wait to find out what other places I can put fish sauce where it doesn't seem to belong.

Little Gem Salad with Korean Radish
1 head little gem lettuce
1 head frisee lettuce
1 young Korean radish (yeolmu)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp Parmesan, grated

Wash little gem lettuce and peel leaves off core, leaving them whole.  Slice the frisee lettuce into large chunks.  Remove top from radish, and scrub any dirt off the exterior.  Slice radish into thin circles and add to bowl with lettuces.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, fish sauce, lemon juice, and garlic.  Pour over lettuce and radish and toss to coat.

Add dressed salad to plate and top with grated Parmesan and black pepper.  Serve immediately.