Easy Crisp Iceberg Lettuce Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese
Description
If you love a classic steakhouse wedge salad, then this is the recipe you're looking for. The crisp wedge is topped with a creamy buttermilk basil ranch and all the fixings. Plus, the way you prep the wedge just might change everything.
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Ingredients
Buttermilk Basil Ranch Dressing
- ½ cup fresh basil, heavily packed *
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup pitted Castelvetrano olives, optional
Wedge Salad
- 8 ounces thick-cut bacon
- ⅓ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large head iceberg lettuce
- ½ cup diced vine-ripe cherry tomatoes
- 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives
Instructions
Buttermilk Basil Ranch Dressing
- Add ½ cup basil, ½ cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons buttermilk, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt to a mini food processor and blend until smooth.
- Drain ½ cup olives and transfer to a paper towel or clean kitchen towel; fold towel over top and firmly smash down on olives to crush and draw out excess moisture. Transfer olives to food processor and pulse until olives are finely chopped but not puréed.
Wedge Salad
- Cut 8 ounces bacon into ½-inch pieces then add to a stainless steel skillet and place over medium heat; cook, stirring frequently, until browned and crisp, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet, discard the rest.
- Add ⅓ cup breadcrumbs to drippings in skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, 3–5 minutes; set aside.
- Cut 1 head of lettuce in half, top to bottom. Place halves cut side down and cut in half again, top to bottom. At this point, you have 4 wedges. You can use these as-is and move on to topping and serving them, or you can further cut them so they hold onto the dressing and toppings better.
- To do this you’ll make 4 cuts on the wedge to form a cross, each cut should be 1 to 1 ½ inches in length and none of the cuts should reach each other—if they do, the wedge will fall apart. Arrange the wedge so the 90-degree corner is facing up with the core closest to you. Cut a 1-inch slice through the wedge along the bottom half of the corner edge. Rotate the wedge 90-degrees so the wedge is now running horizontally, make another cut through the wedge from the corner out to the edges, rotate another 90-degrees and make another cut along the bottom, rotate a final 90-degrees and a make one last cut from the center to the edges.
- Arrange wedges on a platter and lightly sprinkle with salt. Spoon dressing over top, making sure it gets into the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle ½ cup diced tomatoes over top followed by 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese, cooked bacon, 2 tablespoons sliced chives, and breadcrumbs (in that order).
Equipment
Notes
Basil: One .75-ounce package of fresh basil should yield a packed half cup of basil.
Olives: you can totally skip the olives if you aren't a fan of them or don't have them. This dressing is great either way!
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 recipeCalories: 442kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 14gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 1184mgPotassium: 463mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1380IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 168mgIron: 1mg
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