Cream Dressing (French Vinaigrette à la Crème)

This dressing makes for the simplest of salads, lettuce and cream. In the French culture it is part of a multiple serving meal and is intended to aid in digestion. I love it for a weeknight meal accompaniment. Of course you can pile on any extra ingredients as you like, but I enjoy the taste of fresh lettuce and cream as being the dominant flavours. And if you are worried about the calories; cream has 205 versus olive oil which has a whopping 477. Shocker, I know.

4 cups curly lettuce, shredded
4 cups Boston lettuce, shredded
1 Tbsp. red-wine vinegar
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
¼ tsp. sea salt
6 Tbsp. (¼ cup) heavy cream

For the Lettuce:
Remove and discard any damaged outer lettuce leaves and tear the lettuce into 2" pieces. Wash in a sink full of cool water, lifting the lettuce from the water and placing it in a salad dryer. Dry thoroughly. You should have about eight cups of greens.

For the Dressing:
Place the vinegar, pepper, salt and cream in a salad bowl and mix together with a spoon, preferably wooden.

Assembly:
At serving time, toss the greens with the dressing and serve immediately.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Cook's Notes:  The salad should be cool but not ice cold and should be tossed at the last minute, just before serving, especially if Boston or red-tipped leaf lettuce is used.