Wedge Salad

Ingredients in Wedge Salad

1. Lettuce– Here, we are using Little gem lettuces instead of the traditional iceberg wedges,  but romaine lettuce, romaine hearts, a head of iceberg lettuce or any other crisp, sturdy lettuce that will hold up to the dressing will work!
2. Veggies: This is where it gets fun! Add vine-ripened tomatoes or cherry tomatoes,  red onion, crunchy radishes, beets, salad turnips, grated carrots, green beans, snow peas, or cucumber.
3. Fresh Herbs:  herbs add such a lovely freshness to the salad flat- look for flat-leaf parsley, chives, fresh dill, basil, scallions, or tarragon.
4. Salad Dressing:  A rich and creamy dressing is traditional here and works so well with the cool, crunchy lettuce and veggies. yes, it is rich, but we consider this salad “an entree”. We love this Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing – feel free to make your own or use store-bought. Of course, we really love making homemade! Vegans could use our Vegan Ranch Dressing! This Dilly Ranch is nice too.
5. Optional Toppings: Let’s get wild!  Bacon Crumbles or our new favorite Coconut Bacon, Crunchy Salad topper, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, sourdough croutons, toasted seeds (pumpkin or sunflower), nuts (toasted hazelnuts, etc.), blue cheese crumbles or gorgonzola cheese crumbles.

How to make Wedge Salad

Step One: Cook the Beets ( if using). 

Roast or blanch beets until tender, peel under running cold water, and slice. Chill! You can do this ahead so the beets are really good and cold. Or nowadays, you can buy precooked beets for even faster prep!

Step Two: Make the Dressing

Whisk the Gorgonzola dressing ingredients together. We’ve used gorgonzola crumbles, mayonnaise, sour cream (or buttermilk) vinegar, fresh garlic, chives, salt and black pepper, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.  For an extra kick, you add horse radish! The gorgonzola dressing is best served COLD, so be sure to make it ahead and chill it.  You could also make homemade Blue cheese dressing.

Step Three: Prep the veggies.

Halve or quarter the little gem lettuces. If using iceberg lettuce, remove the outer leaves, cut them into quarters, and remove the stem. If using romaine lettuce, split it in half and remove the stem if it is tough.

Prep your veggies, cutting them into bite-sized pieces. Chop the herbs.

Step Four: Assemble the Wedge Salad. 

You can either plate the salad on individual plates or toss it all in a big bowl.

To plate individually– lay the lettuces down on a plate and dress with the gorgonzola dressing.  Arrange the beets, tomatoes, herbs and radishes, and optional coconut bacon crumbles over the top and drizzle with a little more dressing. Season with fresh black pepper.

Alternatively, serve in a large bowl. Toss lettuce with the dressing first, then add the remaining ingredients and toss again, adding more dressing as needed.

So much flavor happening here!

Expert Tips

• Make sure everything is COLD. Lettuce, dressings, veggies!
• This salad is all about texture! Crispy toppings elevate- whether it be traditional bacon crumbles or our coconut bacon.
• Add something nutritious- the salad can handle this. We love adding beets and radishes but mix it up, use what you have.

What to serve with a Wedge Salad

• The Best Grilled Chicken
• Grilled Flank Steak 
• Grilled Tofu

Hope you enjoy this- let us know what you think in the comments below and have a beautiful week!

Sylvia

More recipes you may like:

• Coconut Bacon
• Gorgonzola Dressing
• Little Gem Salad with Dilly Ranch Dressing
• Raw Beet Salad with Basil Cashew Dressing
• Delicious Beet Salad Recipe with Feta & Pistachios
• Poke Beets!
• Beet Orange and Fennel Salad
• Cobb Salad

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Wedge Salad Recipe

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• Author: Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home
• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 45
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: salad, summer
• Method: tossed
• Cuisine: northwest

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Description

Cool and crisp Wedge Salad made with little gem lettuce, beets, tomatoes, radishes, herbs and coconut bacon, topped with Creamy Gorgonzola dressing.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1/2x1x2x

• 3–4 baby little gem lettuces, romaine hearts or 1 large head of iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups beets, roasted or blanched, chilled, diced, or cut into wedges
• 1 cup sliced radishes (or cucumber)
• 1/8 cup very finely sliced red onion, optional
• 1/2 cup coconut bacon (see notes) or bacon crumbles (or sub vegan bacon bits)
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs- parsley, chives, basil, dill, scallions or tarragon
• Gorgonzola crumbles

Gorgonzola Dressing:

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup sour cream (or buttermilk)
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (2 ounces)
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely minced or grated
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot or onion
• 1 tablespoon vinegar- Apple cider, red wine or white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Black Pepper to taste
• Optional: add a 1/2-1 teaspoon horseradish for a little kick.

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Instructions

1. Cook (roast or steam) the beets and chill.  Peel and either slice or dice.
2. Make the dressing:  Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and immediately refrigerate. You want the dressing to be really cold! Feel free to make it ahead!
3. Assemble: When ready to serve, cut the little gems into halves or quarters and place on individual plates. (If using iceberg lettuce, remove the outer leaves, cut into quarters, and remove the stem. If using remain hearts, cut in half, remove stem.) Pour some of the chilled gorgonzola dressing over the top, add the veggies and herbs, and a little more dressing, and top with bacon or coconut bacon and gorgonzola crumbles and any other optional toppings and serve immediately.
4. (Alternatively, feel free to make a big bowl of salad -toss the wedges with the dressing, coating well, then add the veggies, fresh herbs. Toss again, adding more dressing as needed. Top with coconut bacon and gorgonzola crumbles and any additional toppings.

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Notes

Optional Toppings: avocado, hardboiled eggs, toasted seeds or nuts, salad topper. 

The key to this salad– is making sure the salad is very cold and every ingredient is chilled. You can make the dressing and beets ahead. I like to use my instant pot for steaming beets to keep the kitchen cool in summer.

Any leftover dressing will keep 7 days in the fridge.

Nutrition

• Serving Size:
• Calories: 495
• Sugar: 9.5 g
• Sodium: 1415.8 mg
• Fat: 35.6 g
• Saturated Fat: 10.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 34.1 g
• Fiber: 4.4 g
• Protein: 16.1 g
• Cholesterol: 48.8 mg