St. Anselm’s Iceberg Wedge Salad Recipe (2024)

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Jeff Winett

I cannot give enough kudos for this recipe. This takes a normally ultra rich starter into the realm of frequent enjoyment without feeling like a splurge. Cheese, bacon, and a thick piquant dressing. It sounds so hedonistic, but it's truly a judicious amount of these luxury ingredients....it's the dressing that won me over. Thick rich mouthfeel, but very light on the actual fat...1 tb. per person! You can easily make the dressing in advance and rewarm at serving. Loved this.

Mary Stremlau

The recipe for the dressing looks nearly like what we make out here in the Midwest as a dressing for spinach salad. Also makes a splendid dressing for German potato salad.

Figaro

If your lettuce was bitter, it was probably old. Also, try removing the root end of the iceberg (that is bitter) and cutting it into smaller segments. It will absorb the dressing better.

Laura D.

It's almost impossible to find organic iceberg, and since lettuce is on the EWG's dirty dozen list, going to try this with hearts of romaine.

Shannon

Definitely cut the round iceberg into eighths, not quarters! Quarters were too ungainly and it was hard to get a perfect ratio of lettuce to flavored elements.

Etta Abrahams

One way to remove the core of iceberg lettuce that is easy (and somehow especially gratifying) is to take the whole lettuce and rap it hard, core-side down, on your counter. Then turn it over and remove the core easily with your fingers--it should pop out.

George Howard

Great blue cheese dressing recipe. I vegetarian-ized it by using Morningstar Bacon Stripe, and adding extra evoo after the veggie bacon (which doesn't really render any fat) cooked through. I also increased the vinegar and dijon quantity while reducing the amount of sugar.

Richard

Organic people use whole Romaine Leaves. Makes a great looking plate. I've seen Caesar Salad made this way in restaurants.

Karen

Dressing was a little too sweet for my taste. Don't know if I'll make it again but if I do, I'll cut back on the sugar.

hl

So very funny, after all the years that iceberg lettuce was totally déclassé, that it is now showing up in the finest of restaurants! Yes, there really are times when this crispy white stuff is a good foil for other ingredients.

brcooks

I use hearts of romaine for this, some applewood smoked thick bacon (which I probably could live on if I needed to) and the chopped parsley. So good. Dressed it with Cindy's Buttermilk Dressing. Doing it again tonight actually. Didn't need the blue cheese with this dressing.

Hammy

To core the lettuce hold it in your hand with the core down and then smack it on the counter. That will loosen the core and you can just twist it out.

Stuart

So... I made this. For some reason I kept reading the cider vinegar as red wine vinegar, so that's what I used. The salad underneath it was not a wedge of iceberg with blue cheese. I used a second helping of it, warm, as a sauce for steamed bok choi. It was good, though the consistency, in both preparations, which was gravy-like (I guess I could have thinned it more), made it something I might not be moved to make again. Ambivalent! Would love to know what others think!

pat royalty

This salad dressing is exactly the same dressing i've been making for hot German potato salad, for over 50 years. It's delicious on those hot sliced potatoes, with a good sprinkling of the bacon and onion (no cheese). I did not find it inspiring as a salad dressing, hard to make that transition. The bacon fat, so good on hot sliced potatoes did not come over as well on the lettuce. I won't be making this again.

vsproctor

variation on iceberg wedge salads that seem to be in vogue again. this was good, but most importantly easy to tweak to your own taste. found it's best to keep dessing on the thinner side with the rich blue cheese.

Margaret

Bit too vinegary for me.

Adriene

This was a hit! I was wary of the dressing, couldn’t wrap my head around it, but it was perfect. All diners raves about it.

LAS

Was anticipating this all day. Easy to make, came together quickly. But just “meh”. We all ate it but not going into the rotation.

meinmunich

Had along with chicory, thinking that the bitter goes with the bacon sauce. It was good main course after oysters.

maeve

Yes, this vinaigrette is very similar to my midwestern mother-in-law's dressing for German potato salad. Only difference is no flour needed, potatoes (edges rubbed off) thicken the dressing adequately. Also can be used warm for wilted lettuce salad. Go Barbara!

Carole

I would substitute Nance’s Sharp and Creamy mustard and add bacon and blue cheese. Similar flavor profile and tons less effort.

Sasen

This gravy-dressing took forever to thicken over low heat. It finally came together when I turned it up to medium heat.

Dave

This was pretty good. I used Romaine and grilled half heads on one side. I probably didn't follow the measurements for sugar as I'm more of a "to taste" kind of person. Dressing flavor ended up not unlike German potato salad dressing. Overall flavor was more savory than I expected (good). I will make this again!

Bellaverdi

Prepared as written. Happiness in the mouth!

Usha

Loved this dressing. So easy to make and I agree with a previous post. Perfect for spinach salads. No need to buy the saccharine sweet jarred dressings again

danielle

Just a touch too much Apple cider vinegar in the dressing for my taste but otherwise delicious.

Jane

I found this salad to be easy to prepare following the preparation steps. Following the steps, I found that the dressing took about 15-20 minutes to resemble gravy. I liked to dressing, but felt that cutting the head of iceberg into quarters was much too large of a serving size for dinner guests, leaving wasted salad on all plates.

Weslie

as we do not eat meat, the bacon issue was puzzling but i heated up the olive oil and used kosher salt and a smoky salt in the oil until they both seemed to dissolve. a bit acidic so i added a little more sugar and it became less so. in lieu of the bacon bits, i chopped up cherry tomatoes and put them around the lettuce. loved the tip on how to break up the core. wonderful!!

Brenda Fluke

It was heavenly!!! Its blend of rich creamy bacon dressing and piquant blue cheese was a lovely topping for iceberg lettuce which needs some "dressing up" to be eaten!

simon mcdonald

i have worked in europe in a french & an italian restaurant... - never did i pump out such a lazy salad...... AS THEEEES...... my heavens...., my ex chef would have had my guts for a spare pare of garters should i have daaaaared... to not chop up the lettuce for such a dish.... with a dang fine name i might add...... pick up the game i say..... but not like messi.....

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St. Anselm’s Iceberg Wedge Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to wash iceberg lettuce for wedge salad? ›

Separate the lettuce wedges to clean them thoroughly then re-stack the to assemble your salad. Sand and bugs (ick) are often nestled between the leaves. Pat lettuce dry after rinsing. Soggy lettuce = not good.

What is so special about a wedge salad? ›

The wedge salad offers a cool, crisp dish that's appreciated by steak lovers and vegetarians. Restaurant chefs craft signature salads for their dining rooms. Home chefs keep fresh lettuce in the fridge for building healthy family meals around crisp wedges.

What is the proper way to eat a wedge salad? ›

While the fork secures the “wedge”, use the knife in your other hand to cut off one bite-size piece of salad from the tip of the wedge nearest you on the plate. (It's fine to turn the plate so one point of the salad wedge is near you to begin with.) Only cut one bite at a time.

What happens if you dont wash iceberg lettuce? ›

Washing leafy greens does not remove all germs. That's because germs can stick to the surface of leaves and even get inside them. If you eat contaminated leafy greens without cooking them first, such as in a salad or on a sandwich, you might get sick.

How do restaurants make salads so crisp? ›

The Keys to Crisp Lettuce

Lettuce actually needs a good amount of airflow, in addition to a bit of moisture (but not too much!), in order to stay crisp. That's why restaurants store their lettuce in special perforated bins that allow for air circulation while it's held in the fridge.

Why are wedge salads more expensive? ›

The surrounding ingredients of a wedge salad are very expensive,” says Couper. “We typically use two types of blue cheese that are not inexpensive. Plus, we use hand-cut Nueske's bacon that we fry to order, and that's not cheap.” You can find picture-perfect versions of the wedge at Kinzie Chophouse (400 N.

Why are salads at restaurants so much better? ›

Restaurants salt their salads.

"Season your salad just like you would anything else," Simpson said. "Salt is a big difference between salads at home and salads in a restaurant." This doesn't mean you have to make your salads salty! Just hold back some salt when seasoning your dressing.

How long to soak lettuce in ice water? ›

Bringing lettuce back to life

If your lettuce has wilted, this tip will help to revive it: Simply soak the lettuce in ice water for 15 minutes (or up to an hour, depending on how wilted your lettuce is), and its crispness will be restored.

What makes a wedge salad so good? ›

In addition to its appealing mix of cooling and creamy elements, one of the hallmarks of a wedge salad is its total simplicity—overcomplicating it in an attempt to make a version that stands out from the crowd flies in the face of what this salad should be, which is dead easy.

Why do people eat wedge salad? ›

Thanks to the cool crunchiness of the iceberg lettuce and the rich pungency of the blue cheese element, wedge salads became the popular thing to serve with a nice, juicy steak. As a result, many people still associate wedge salads with the era of 1970s steakhouses, even thinking of the dish as a steakhouse wedge salad.

Should you wash iceberg lettuce before storing? ›

Hold off on washing the lettuce until you're ready to use it. Regular iceberg heads, wrapped tightly in plastic, keep for 10 to 12 days in the refrigerator.

Should I rinse packaged lettuce? ›

Leafy green salads in sealed bags labeled "washed," "triple washed," or "ready-to-eat" that are produced in a facility inspected by a regulatory authority and operated under "Good Manufacturing Practices" (GMP): Do not need additional washing at the time of use unless specially directed on the label.

How do you dry iceberg lettuce after washing it? ›

Drying Method: Towel Rolling and Plastic Bag Wringing

About this method: As with the towel wringing method, you roll the wet greens up in a clean kitchen towel and then move the towel to a bag — most often this technique uses a plastic produce bag, but you could use a clean reusable bag too.

How do you wash iceberg lettuce in a salad spinner? ›

Turns out a salad spinner can do both the washing and the drying. Instead of washing the greens under cold water, place them into the spinner first and fill the whole thing up with water. Rustle everything around a bit and then do absolutely nothing for a few minutes.

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