Retro Wedge Salad Recipe, Good Things Always Return
Retro Wedge Salad Recipe, because good things always return.
Or never went away, as is the case with Outback Steakhouse’s menu.
We keep experimenting with other greens and ingredients,
forgetting the quick and comfortable wedge salad.
⇓ Zoom right on down to the recipe! ⇓
What is a Wedge Salad?
”
Wedge salads are essential steakhouse fare and have been for decades – pale green-white triangles of commodity iceberg drizzled in [creamy blue cheese dressing], with crumbles of bacon and bright red pops of cherry tomato, and pricks of green chive strewn across the top. Serve a wedge and a steak, or a wedge and a hamburger, or a wedge and a roast chicken, or just a wedge and a lot of warm bread…, and it’s a pleasant evening you’re having, a retro delight. Wedge is a salad for pleasure.
”
New York Times
According to the chefs quoted in the Times article, simple is the secret. Don’t go high end on the blue cheese crumbles. Don’t chop or shred the lettuce. And don’t mess with the crisp cut of iceberg. The only thing you can change, apparently, is the dressing. Mix your favorite, especially if you don’t do blue cheese.
At our house, when I was growing up, iceberg was the only lettuce Mom bought. In spring we had garden leaf lettuce, but the rest of the year? Iceberg.
Now the last twenty years iceberg’s been a no no. You need the dark greens for health, with romaine topping the preferred list.
Until the romaine food poisoning outbreak that swept the country, and killed 5 people. We all got paranoid about romaine.
And that’s when iceberg finally got another chance in the sun. Even though the threat of food poisoning from romaine is a thing of the past, it seems the pandemic brought us another reason to try wedge salad again.
Cooking at home. Making comfort food. Recipes from the past that give us a sense of stability.
More Recipes to try while cooking at home:
Accidental Fiesta Chicken Recipe By An Easy Gourmet
The Homemade Ice Cream Recipe You Can’t Live Without
Birdseed Bread Recipe: Bake From Scratch
Best Chipotle Chicken Wraps for a Spring Luncheon
Pork Tenderloin Sliders Marinade Recipe
Retro Wedge Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
- a crisp head of iceberg lettuce, leaves slightly loose, not growing tight and inseparable
- cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half, dressed in vinaigrette to soften
- crisp bacon crumbles
- chopped chives or red onion shards
- Optional for our family: blue cheese crumbles (we use shredded cheddar)
- Creamy blue cheese dressing (which I substitute for a homemade vinaigrette.
Prepping:
- Grape Tomatoes: Slice the tomatoes in half, and marinate in a tangy vinaigrette of your choice, with the chopped chives or red onion shards, to soften them slightly.
- Bacon: Fry the bacon until crisp but not burnt. Drain on paper towels. Crumble into small, crunchy bits.
- Iceberg Lettuce: You chose a loose, crispy head. Remove the core. (Bump it on the table to loosen, then gently pull it out.) Slice the head in half with a bread knife, because the jagged edges will grab dressing better. Then slice the halves in half again, or in thirds. Not everyone will want a quarter head of lettuce!
- Homemade Vinaigrette Dressing: We prefer not to eat blue cheese dressing, so this is my personal favorite at this time. You can also marinate the tomatoes and onions in this dressing if you wish. Mix 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup good olive oil, 1/2 tsp. mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Shake well.
How to serve a wedge salad:
A wedge salad has the best effect if it’s individually plated.
Place the wedge with the wide curve on the plate.
Drizzle with the dressing first. There’s two reasons for this. It lets the dressing get between the leaves of lettuce, and it helps the toppings stay in place on the wedge for the best presentation.
Top with the tomatoes, onion and cheese of choice.
Follow us on Pinterest!
And add this recipe to your Salads Board.
Retro Wedge Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chives or red onions, chopped
- 1 cup crisp bacon pieces
- 1 cup blue cheese crumbles or shredded cheddar
- blue cheese dressing or homemade vinaigrette
Homemade Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar or honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Slice tomatoes in half. Marinate with chopped onions for half to one hour.
- Remove core on lettuce. Wash and let dry. Cut lettuce in half, then halves or thirds, depending on size desired.
- Plate a wedge of lettuce and drizzle liberally with dressing.
- Top with cheese, bacon, tomatoes and onions.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper, if desired.
Can you taste the crunch?
Enjoy!
Personalized Recipe Albums
that everyone’s talking about…
Grey Buffalo Check Doily and Roses Recipe Album
One of my favorites! Thanks for sharing!!
And I bet yours are delicious! Do you make your own dressing?