Baby cos wedgies with parmesan aioli, blanched baby peas and parmesan puff

Servings:

The wonderful thing about this salad is how long you can let it sit at the table, since the cos lettuce is technically undressed (or at the very least, just topless enough to remain unruffled at a BBQ for hours). The key is to ensure you have a nice fine grater (a microplane is best) to leave a fine cloud of parmesan on top of the lettuce. If you’d prefer to keep your salad vego friendly, use a parmesan-style hard cheese set with a non-animal rennet (you’ll find this information on the label). A good crack of fresh pepper on top is also a must.

Ingredients

▢ 2 Baby Cos trimmed and soaked and spun, sliced into 2cm wedges on the stem
▢ 250 g frozen baby peas blanched

Parmesan aioli

▢ 1 egg
▢ 60 g parmesan finely grated
▢ 1-2 garlic cloves peeled
▢ 1 tsp Dijon
▢ Juice of ½ a lemon
▢ ⅔ cup (160 ml) neutral-flavoured oil I like grapeseed here
▢ ⅓ cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

To make the whole-ggg parmesan aioli, crack a whole egg into a jug or jar wide enough for your stick-blender (or into your blender bowl), along with the garlic, mustard, lemon juice and a good pinch of salt flakes. Blitz for 10 secs to get friendly. Combine the neutral + olive oils in a small jug and gently stream them into the mix with the whizzer going until it thickens. Dump in the grated parmesan and a few cracks of pep. Pulse a few times to mix. Taste and season. Transfer the aioli to an airtight container and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
To bring it all together, schmear aioli on the base of a large platter, topped with wedges and peas over the top, finishing with a parmesan cloud and freshly cracked pepper.