Baby Gem Lettuce Salad with Feta & Olives

This lovely salad features tender Baby Gem lettuce, a smaller, sweeter variety of romaine, adorned with tangy Greek feta, sliced green and black Kalamata olives in a gorgeous garlic confit vinaigrette. Inspired by chef Ben Heaton's Baby Gem Salad which we enjoyed at Estia two years ago in Toronto's stylish Yorkville neighbourhood, it's now one of our favourite salads. I added an extra dimension of flavour to the vinaigrette with Yotam Ottolenghi's Garlic Confit, a fabulous recipe I pick up from his online Masterclass course. The confit should be made well ahead of time for the maximum flavour bomb.

Baby Gem & Feta Salad with Garlic Confit Vinaigrette

Serves 8

1 1/2 lb Baby Gem lettuce, about 8-9 heads

1 cup Greek feta, crumbled

1/2 cup green and black Kalamata olives, halved

Maldon salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Vinaigrette:

8 cloves of confit garlic (see recipe below)

2 tsp red wine vinegar 

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp Maldon salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

In a blender, whisk together garlic confit, vinegar and dijon mustard. Slowly add the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper, then set aside.

To serve, arrange the lettuce on a large platter and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Garnish with crumbled feta and sliced olives, and finish with a flurry of Maldon salt and fresh ground pepper.

Garlic Confit & Oil

Makes 1 cup

Recipe courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi

12 peeled garlic cloves

6 thyme sprigs

1 green chili

1 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cover and cook until the garlic is soft and just beginning to colour, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Leave the lid on, remove from the heat, and set aside for 10 minutes; the garlic will continue to cook in the heat of the oil.

Strain the oil into a clean glass jar and spoon in the garlic, thyme, and chili.

Once cool, transfer everything to an airtight, sterilized jar and store at room temperature for several weeks.