Happy Romaine day! Today, 22 Germinal, we celebrate romaine. We’ve skipped over Judas Tree – so named because it was either a corruption of abre de Judée, or thought to be the kind of tree that Judas hanged himself.

We’re taking it relatively easy with a romaine salad today. From a Bon Apetit recipe, some pecans are processed to make a nut butter that becomes the base of the dressing. I cut the recipe in half and it still made a ton of salad.

Romaine and Pecan Salad

1 cup pecans

1 tbs butter

fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp honey

1 cup sugar snap peas

1 large romaine heart

Heat the oven to 350 and start boiling a pot of salted water. Toss half of the pecans with melted butter and salt to taste. Bake them in an oven until toasty – for me, about 5 minutes. Put the other half of the pecans in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add in a tablespoon of lemon juice, the honey, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until well mixed.

Once the pot of water is boiling, cook the peas until they turn bright green – 2-3 minutes. Remove them to an ice bath and when cool, trim the ends and remove the strings. Cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut the romaine leaves in half. Toss the romaine, peas and dressing together and top with the roasted pecans. Enjoy!