Wedge of goodness
“You’ll be so proud of me. I ordered lettuce on my hamburger at lunch today.”
Aaahhh. The ongoing adventure of trying to get my husband to eat more plants. And for the record, I was extremely proud of him. Even more so when he responded, “Let’s eat a salad,” when I ask him what he wanted for dinner.
Light, crisp, and fresh, wedge salads are currently one of our favorite weekend lunches. Iceberg lettuce gets a bad rap for being decidedly un-gourmet but try to dress a BLT with anything else. It’s not my favorite salad green but it’s crisp and crunch definitely makes iceberg my favorite dressing green. And it’s one of the few green things that my husband will eat voluntarily.
My favorite wedge salad includes:
1/4 head iceberg lettuce
Crumbled gorgonzola or goat cheese
Crispy pancetta
Chopped Roma tomatoes
Fresh basil
Salt & Vinegar or Sugared almonds
Red wine vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Chianti Vinaigrette
1/4 cup Chianti vinegar (or other red wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp honey
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
liberal amount of ground black pepper
pinch of sea salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Whisk all ingredients together while streaming in the olive oil. Go heavy on the black pepper for a peppery vinaigrette.
More salads:
Spinach & Nectarine Salad
Rosemary Coleslaw
Avocado & Orange Salad
February 24th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I have a hubby who doesn’t react kindly when I tell him we’re having salad for dinner. “What’s the main dish?” is usually his response. Sigh.
While I typically loathe iceberg lettuce, I do enjoy the crunch, and slathered in all of those ingredients that you have listed makes it a worthwhile feast!
February 24th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I usually shy away from iceberge wedges, but this one honestly looks good!
February 24th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Looks great Shawnda!
February 24th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Looks perfect!
February 24th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
I love Wedge Salads, and like you believe they decidedly need a blue cheese and a ham product.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
my DH is the same way!! i can never get him to eat a salad….
yours looks beautiful!
February 25th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
This is a beautiful way to dress up iceberg! It sounds delicious!
February 25th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Hi
I am new to your blog and love it:-) photos look great and I like your enthusiasm and passion about food. I look forward to see more of your cooking:-)
X M
February 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
That is one sexy wedge of iceberg! If it is presented like that, I might skip the froufrou mesclun salad and have this instead!
February 27th, 2008 at 7:25 am
I LOVE that you made a wedge for dinner! It was one of our staples this past summer when we ran out of gas in our grill and were too lazy to go buy some!
February 28th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
When I met my husband, the only veggie he ate was Zaxby’s fries. So I feel ya! I’m happy to report my guy now also orders vegetables on his burgers, and he no longer picks the veggies out of spaghetti sauce!!
February 28th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
What an elegant salad. Lovely recipe. Perfect for vegetarians too, as they can simply leave out the meat. I’d have a hard time deciding whether to use goat’s cheese or gorgonzola.
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I tried your recipe for lunch today and loved it so much I blogged about it. I think the pancetta and pepper make this recipe something special. Thanks for sharing . . .