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The Golden Eagle's Chef Keith Remes on Good Day Atlanta

Published  April 23, 2019 4:15pm EDT
Good Day Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Chef Keith Remes from The Golden Eagle stops by Good Day Atlanta with a recipe for their signature Little Gem Spring Salad.

hef Keith Remes also talks about Dining Out For Life to benefit Project Open Hand which takes place this week.  For more on today's recipe see below.

For more on Dining Out For Life click here. 

Little Gem Spring Salad:
For The Salad:
4 Heads Gem Lettuce (baby romaine will also work), sliced lengthwise with leaves reserved
1 Fresh Lemon, cut into wedges with seeds removed
1/3 Cup Chive sliced thinly
1/3 Cup Micro Basil or Torn Italian Basil
1/3 Cup Micro Shiso or Torn Shiso Leaf
1/4 Cup Super Finely Grated Parmesan
4 Raw Asparagus Stalk Shaved Very Thin (optional-ish)
For The "Little Gem Pesto":
Reserved Little Gem Leaves
1 Baby Leek, sliced very thinly
1 Duck Egg Yolk
2 Tablespoon Sunflower Seed

Method:
The first step, and really most of the work, to making this salad is to make the "pesto".  Start by putting your baby leek in a cold saute pan with about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil (canola or olive oil is fine too but grapeseed is nice and neutral) and turn the heat to medium high and season with a little bit of salt.  Seasoning the leek in the beginning is crucial because it will start to draw liquid from the leek as it cooks so that it steams instead of caramelizes.  The goal is to soften the leek and activate its aroma.  Once softened, add the leftover lettuce leaves to the pan and give them a quick toss then empty the leek and lettuce into a blender.  Add the egg yolk (chicken egg yolk works too) and sunflower seeds to the blender as well and puree smooth.  The puree should be thick enough to stand on its own but not have the consistency of peanut butter.  Add salt until it tastes appropriately seasoned and then put the puree in the fridge to cool down.
Now the easy part!  Lay gem lettuce out, cut side facing up.  Squeeze one lemon wedge over each half of gem lettuce so that the lemon juice gets inside the leaves and season each half lightly with salt.  Next you're going to spoon your pesto on top of each half, covering the cut side of the lettuce completely.  Layer the finely grated parmesan on top of the pesto, then layer the chive, basil and shiso on top of that.  Garnish with shaved asparagus stalks and some toasted sunflower seeds.