SERIES: salads and the wedge
Week 5 of the summer salad series brings us to a classic – the wedge salad. Although not an entrée salad, it is my favorite accompaniment to steak. Blue cheese and red meat are a rich and decadent combination. For this reason, the wedge is a steakhouse salad classic.
This salad has been around for at least 100 years. It’s something that started as a classic and remains a classic throughout the last century. It’s recipes like these that we have an obligation to cook and serve at our tables to carry on the tradition of American cooking. When we look at Italy or France or frankly almost any country outside of the US, we often look longingly for a food culture to cling to ourselves. In the US, sadly our food culture has reflected convenience or industrialization in the last 60-70 years. We don’t have the rich history of the highest quality humble ingredients, cooked with care and time by the oldest generations of our culture. Countries like Italy and France are standouts in my mind, but this exists in most countries that have long histories and a deep culture of food.
When we find classics like the wedge, serve it. Introduce it to someone who hasn’t had it. Let’s make the 100-year history of this salad live on. It’s a big ambition to influence and establish the food culture of our country, but this is how it happens. Family by family, establishing traditions, respecting food, respecting our land, and respecting the people who cultivate and grow our food. Little by little, drip by drip, we can create a rich history of food culture in our country of origin, which is my favorite country in the world!
The Wedge Salad
This is an American classic steakhouse salad! The dressing is rich, but not too thick and the acid of the tomato, shallot, and vinegar combination perfects this version.
Ingredients
- 1/2 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 2-4 slices of thick cut bacon, cooked to a crisp (candied, if possible)
- 8 oz crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup buttermilk (see note)
- 2 TBSP mayonnaise
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TSP hot sauce (like Tabasco or Crystal)
- 1 TSP lemon juice, fresh
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large head of iceberg lettuce, cut into 4 wedges
- 2 TBSP minced chives
Instructions
Toss the tomatoes, shallot, red wine vinegar together in a small bowl. Season with salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Set aside.
Prepare the dressing. Add half of the cheese to a mixing bowl. Combine with buttermilk, mayonnaise, olive oil, hot sauce, lemon juice, and worcestershire. You may need to mash with something like a potato masher or pastry blender. Mix until at desired consistency and set aside.
Assemble the salad, starting with the wedge. Next, spoon some dressing. Sprinkle with bacon, tomato mixture, blue cheese crumbles, and minced chives. Shower with ground pepper, and serve!
Notes
Buttermilk: If you don't have this or don't want to buy an entire container for the 1/4 cup needed in this recipe, you can easily make this. In a measuring cup, add your dairy of choice (any fat content cow milk will work) to just below the 1/4 cup mark. Top to the 1/4 cup mark with 1-2 TSP freshly squeezed lemon juice (or white vinegar) and let sit for 10 minutes.
Inspired by: NY Times, Sam Sifton