Wedge Salad with Chunky Blue Cheese & Bacon – Recipe!

The “Wedge” Salad is a true comfort food to so many.  I wouldn’t call this salad health food, but it’s probably better for you than eating a bag of chips or some macaroni & cheese from a box.  My husband thinks he is in heaven when he sees a Wedge on the menu when we are out to dinner.  I just love his giddiness about an iceberg lettuce salad because he gets so much joy out of the combination of crisp cold lettuce, tangy blue cheese and those salty bacon bits.

Creating a Wedge Salad just like they have on those expensive steakhouse menus is easy to do right in your own kitchen.  I think the most important thing is to buy a good quality blue cheese, so your dressing is thick and creamy with a sharp flavor.  The dressing tends to be the glue that brings the other components of the salad together and turns it into a restaurant experience.

Some Wedge salads have Lardons or French-style cubed bacon, but I tend to think any bacon is good bacon.  Pancetta is also a nice option, and it can be found already cubed in many grocery stores.  Iceberg lettuce is the traditional greens in this salad, and trust me, I have tried other lettuces, much to my husband’s chagrin, and they just don’t have that same crunch.  I like to serve this Wedge Salad with steak of course, but it also is nice with roast chicken, or served all by itself at lunchtime.

Ingredients

1 head iceberg lettuce

1/2 cup thick-cut bacon or Pancetta, sliced or cubed

Dressing

1/2 cup fresh blue cheese, crumbled

2 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise

1 heaping tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of salt

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1. Wash and dry head of iceberg.  Remove core from bottom of head and slice lettuce into 4 quarters, set aside.
2. In a small pan, crisp up bacon or Pancetta.  Set aside.
3. In a bowl, combine all dressing ingredients. Stir until creamy.
4. To assemble salad – place wedges on a serving plate and dollop with a big spoonful of dressing.  Sprinkle crisp bacon cubes over top.  Sprinkle with a little more cracked pepper.  Enjoy!