The New Wedge Salad

If you love a wedge salad, you’ll love this flavorful take on the classic. Blue cheese crumbles and an herby dressing pair with beets and crisped pancetta, all on fresh iceberg lettuce. 

The New Wedge Salad

You know what the Classic Wedge is. Your mind probably goes straight to rich blue cheese dressing and, if you’re lucky, crispy bacon bits. The iceberg lettuce is just the vehicle we wisely use to get the other ingredients into our mouths!

Change perfection? I think you will like where I’m going with this.
I made the iconic side salad worthy of a meal by swapping bacon for meaty pancetta and adding crunchy hazelnuts and roasted beets. Dress it with a tangy, lemon parsley vinaigrette, but don’t forget the blue cheese! Keep it classic with big, creamy pieces of Roquefort.

All the salty, rich, crunchy tastes we want…just new!

5 from 1 vote

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The New Wedge Salad

Work Time

20 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Turn the classic wedge salad into a main course by adding diced pancetta, roasted beets and protein-rich hazelnuts.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: iceburg, wedge salad

Yield: 4

Calories: 803 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 Red and golden beets
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 3/4 lb pancetta
• 1 head Iceberg lettuce
• 1/2 cup Hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup Roquefort cheese

Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley chopped
• 1/2 cup Extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

For Salad

1. Wrap beets, a sprinkling of kosher salt and a little olive oil in aluminum foil. Roast at 375ºF until tender, about 1 hr. Set aside to cool.   

2. Dice pancetta into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook in a skillet over medium heat until fat is rendered and pancetta is golden and cooked, about 20 min. Reserve a few tablespoons of the fat.

3. Slice iceberg lettuce and serve with pancetta, sliced beets, toasted hazelnuts, crumbled Roquefort cheese and Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette.

For Vinaigrette

1. Stir together lemon juice, garlic, black pepper, sugar and flat-leaf parsley. Combine reserved pancetta fat and enough extra-virgin olive oil to make 1/2 cup and whisk into dressing.

Recipe Notes

• Swap bacon for pancetta if desired

Nutrition Facts

The New Wedge Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 803 Calories from Fat 684

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 76g 117%

Saturated Fat 18g 90%

Cholesterol 65mg 22%

Sodium 1383mg 58%

Potassium 619mg 18%

Total Carbohydrates 14g 5%

Dietary Fiber 4g 16%

Sugars 7g

Protein 17g 34%

Vitamin A 18.3%

Vitamin C 16.8%

Calcium 12.3%

Iron 12.2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Recipe by Tara Bench. Originally published in Ladies’ Home Journal August 2011. Photography Yunhee Kim. Food Styling Paul Grimes.