"This dressing was inspired by the Italian sauce called bagna cauda, a warm olive oil dip in which anchovies, capers, garlic, parsley, and nuts take a nice bath. I wanted something luscious and rich to temper those sharp and salty ingredients, and really struggled before landing on the creamiest thing of all: cream. Steeping the garlic and anchovy with the cream mellows their bite, while simultaneously infusing the cream with flavor. Everybody wins!"

Carla Lalli Music's Spring Lettuces with Anchovy Cream

Ingredients 

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets
• 1/2 bunch parsley, stems and leaves separated, leaves roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 pinch kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 pinch freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
• 2/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 small heads lettuce, leaves separated, washed, and dried
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt, for serving

• Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, combine cream, anchovies, parsley stems, garlic, a pinch of salt, and several grinds of pepper and bring to a very gentle simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes for flavors to infuse.
  2. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, combine walnuts and olive oil and cook over medium heat, tossing and stirring often, until nuts are deep golden and toasty in spots, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, season with salt, and stir. Let cool.
  3. Pluck the parsley stems out of the cream mixture, then use a fork to whisk the mixture and break the garlic and anchovies into small pieces (the fillets should disintegrate without any effort). Taste dressing and season with salt, if needed.
  4. Toss lettuce in a large serving bowl or platter with vinegar, then season with flaky salt. Spoon dressing over (use all of it even though it might seem like a lot). Stir walnuts and chopped parsley together and scatter over the salad. Season with more flaky salt and pepper.
  5. SPIN IT:
     -2 heads Little Gem romaine hearts, 2 heads Boston lettuce, or 1 head green or red leaf lettuce, can all be used
     -1 head radicchio or 3 endive for the lettuce
     -A few dashes of fish sauce for anchovies
     -Almonds or pecans in place of walnuts
     -Lemon juice for vinegar

https://food52.com/recipes/80709-carla-lalli-music-s-spring-lettuces-with-anchovy-cream