Lettuce Salad | Curly Lettuce with Lemon and Garlic

Separate the leaves and wash them one by one so you can see and remove any soil at the base; sand can remain in the center of a whole head of lettuce. Spin the washed leaves in a salad spinner, or stack them in a clean kitchen towel and press gently to dry. They are dry when you hold a leaf up to the light and see no droplets.

Stack the leaves and cut them into strips two finger-widths wide; thinner cuts bruise the leaves and make the salad wilt quickly. Thinly slice both the white and green parts of the scallions. Strip the dill leaves from the stems and chop them; discard the thick stems.

Mash the garlic with the salt, stir in the lemon juice, and let it sit for 1 minute; once the salt dissolves in the lemon juice, the dressing coats the leaves evenly. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking with a fork. The dressing should look cloudy and emulsified; if it is still separated into two layers, keep whisking.

Put the lettuce in a wide bowl and drizzle the dressing around the sides rather than into the center. Toss from the bottom up with your hands in two or three gentle turns; a spoon will bruise the leaves. Sprinkle sumac on top and serve immediately, since dressed lettuce releases water as it sits.