(Photo: Hannah Whitaker. Illustrations by John Burgoyne)

Second only to iceberg in crispness, but with loads more character and a slightly bitter flavor, beautiful elongated heads of romaine lettuce in red and green are at your local Greenmarket now, and what would the salad world be without them? You can’t, after all, make a Caesar without romaine— or at least you shouldn’t. The ladies at the Williamsburg sandwich shop Saltie have come up with an equally delicious use: a sandwich that boldly places the humble leaf center stage. It’s like a BLT but without the B or the T, and, amazingly, it doesn’t lack for either.

Saltie’s Romaine Dinghy

1 sandwich-size square of focaccia (or pizza bianca from Sullivan St Bakery or Grandaisy)
2 tbs. mayonnaise
4 to 6 large romaine leaves
1 breakfast radish, sliced thin on mandoline
1 tsp. anchovy, chopped
1 tsp. chive, minced
juice of half a lemon
extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt

(1) Split the bread in half and spread both sides with mayonnaise. Stack romaine leaves and slice crosswise into 3 sections. (2) Toss in a large bowl with radish, anchovy, chive, lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt. (3) Stack romaine neatly onto bread, layering each piece with radish and anchovy. Adapted from Saltie.

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• Archive: “In Season”
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