The crunchy ribs of romaine lettuce are the star of this marinated salad.

Along with endive and cucumber (either work well), the sweet, sour, spicy dressing slightly pickles the vegetables and adds surprising layers of flavors. Aleppo pepper warms it up and balances with kick of lemon zest. It’s great alone or as a side dish. It will keep in the fridge for up to two days.

Recipe:

2-4 endive and/or 1 cucumber (either or both work equally well)

1 package of 3 hearts of Romaine lettuce

1 TBS white wine vinegar

3 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 TBS sugar

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes (optional)

Prep the veggies: Chop off the bottoms and dark green tops of the romaine. Select the palest centermost leaves and save the rest for another time. Submerge the select leaves in water and agitate to clean. Place the lettuce upright in a bowl and let drain for a few minutes. Stack the leaves and chop into 1/4-1/2” slices. For endive, remove a few outer leaves and chop into similar size slices. Endive grows very tightly. It does not need to be rinsed. Peel cukes, slice in half, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds, quarter & cut into 1/2” slices.
Mix the remainder of ingredients to make the dressing
Reserve one tablespoon of dressing. Toss the rest of the dressing with the vegetables.
Refrigerate. After 15 minutes, give the salad a good stir. Refrigerate for another 15 minutes.
Drain liquid from the bottom of the bowl, add the reserved dressing & serve!