Little Gem Salad with Toasted Breadcrumbs and Creamy Calabrian Chile Dressing Recipe

Nothing against the almighty kale Caesar, but it gets a little old after the millionth time. Enter the Little Gem salad with toasted breadcrumbs and creamy Calabrian chile dressing from Carissa Stanton’s new cookbook, Seriously, So Good: Simple Recipes for a Balanced Life, which will yank you out of your lunch rut at first bite.

“The dressing is kind of a spicy Caesar dressing, used to great effect here, but you’ll want to use any left over to slather on toast, chicken breasts, veggies, grilled fish, almost everything,” Stanton writes. “Panko breadcrumbs are a ready-made shortcut instead of croutons for crunch, and my fave Calabrian chiles bring a dependable level of sweet heat to the party.”

As for the greens, the recipe calls for Little Gem, a type of lettuce that’s a cross between butter and romaine. But you can substitute romaine, Boston or Bibb if you can’t find any at your supermarket. Whatever you do, just don’t skimp on the grated Parm.

^{Excerpted from SERIOUSLY, SO GOOD: Simple Recipes for a Balanced Life. Copyright @ 2024 by Carissa Stanton. Photography Copyright © 2024 by Alanna Hale. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, and imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.}