Who’d have thought lettuce could be so tasty? But I promise you, these Pan Seared Little Gems with dill and lemon are so good I could eat a plate of them on their own.
However, seared and flavoured, they are great with so many dishes that you wouldn’t normally think of having lettuce with.
Did you know?
Little Gems originated in France and were developed from Romaine, and one of the Butterhead lettuce types, to create this lovely little, sweeter flavoured, lettuce.
I particularly love them with my Warm Winter Potato Salad.
How to Make Pan Seared Little Gems
Equipment you will need
Step 1 – Heat the oil over a high heat in a grill pan (ridged pan) if you have one, but can also be done in a flat-base frying pan.
I like to use a grill pan for this because it helps to keep the lettuce from sitting completely in the oil, and the idea is to get some colour, not to brown it all over. However, searing can be easily done in a flat pan, just keep turning the lettuce.
Step 2 – Maintaining a high heat, place the quartered little gems in the pan and sear, turning as necessary, until all sides have scorched a little. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
Step 3 – Remove from the heat and pour over the lemon juice and dill, and toss the little gems to coat. Please note that the lemon juice will hiss and spit a little when it comes in contact with the hot pan.
Step 4 – Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with oil and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper, if using. Great with warm salads like my warm winter potato salad and my easy garlic croutons.
Did you try this recipe? Which oil and herbs did you use? I would love to hear so please drop me a message in the comments box below. ????????
Happy Little Gem Searing and ENJOY!
Pan Seared Little Gems
- 14/02/2021
- 2
- 10 min
- 60 Cals/Serving
- Print this
Ingredients
- 10ml / 2 teaspoons oil (unflavoured, garlic, or chilli infused oil)
- 2 little gem lettuce, quartered lengthways
- 15ml / 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 15ml / 1 tablespoon freshly chopped herbs as follows -
- Dill for unflavoured oil
- Parsley for garlic infused oil
- Mint for chilli infused oil and lime juice (instead of lemon)
- Extra oil for drizzling (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Directions
- Step 1
- Heat the oil over a high heat in a grill pan (ridged pan) if you have one, but can also be done in a flat-base frying pan.
- Step 2
- Maintaining a high heat, place the quartered little gems in the pan and sear, turning as necessary, until all sides have scorched a little. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Step 3
- Remove from the heat and pour over the lemon juice and dill, and toss the little gems to coat.
- Step 4
- Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with oil and a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper, if using. Great with warm salads like my warm winter potato salad and my easy garlic croutons.
