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    TaraTeaspoon » Course » Salads

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    Published: by

    The New Wedge Salad

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Jump to Comments
    lettuce salad with beets text overlay
    lettuce salad with beets text overlay

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


    platter of lettuce wedge salad with beets and bacon

    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!

    Jump to:
    • The Wedge Salad Shape
    • Dressing for a wedge salad:
    • How to cook pancetta:
    • The New Iceberg Wedge Salad

    A New Take on a Lettuce Wedge Salad

    Change perfection? I think you will like where I’m going with this. The delicious flavors are still there, just ENHANCED! My changes:

    • Swap bacon for pancetta
    • Add hazelnuts and sweet beets
    • Big chunks of blue cheese
    • Herby vinaigrette instead of creamy dressing.
    lettuce wedge salad with beets and bacon

    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!

    The Wedge Salad Shape

    You can still serve this salad with the iconic wedge of lettuce. Be my guest. But I love still enjoying all the flavors without having to wrestle with that big wedge.

    I cut or tear my iceberg lettuce into pieces that can soak up all the delicious dressing, and mingle with the bits of crunch and soft blue cheese.

    Dressing for a wedge salad:

    Typically a creamy blue cheese dressing douses a wedge of iceberg lettuce. We top it with bacon bits or crumbles and call it delicious.

    It is! It's tasty, and why mess with perfection? You'll like what I've done!

    I lightened up a classic diner salad with herby, lemon vinaigrette. It adds a nice zing to the crispy lettuce.

    I didn't forget the blue cheese. I just enhanced it! Fresh crumbles of cheese land in your mouth with each bite.

    The New Wedge Salad with recipe

    How to cook pancetta:

    I swapped traditional bacon with pancetta in this iceberg lettuce salad. Pancetta is a cured Italian bacon and is much more meaty than bacon.

    I cut it into cubes. There is a fair amount of fat on pancetta and you can trim this off a bit, or just keep it for flavor.

    Pancetta needs to be cooked slowly. You want to render the fat from the pieces rather than fry it to a crisp. This will take about 20 minutes over medium heat.

    I like do cook pancetta in a high-sided skillet or even a deeper pot like a Dutch oven because it prevents much of the splattering that inevitably happens.

    lettuce wedge salad with beets
    What dressing goes on a wedge salad?

    Classically a creamy blue cheese dressing is served on an iceberg lettuce wedge salad. I like to make an herb vinaigrette. You can also use store-bought blue cheese, Ranch or Caesar dressing.

    Can I make this salad ahead?

    You can prepare all of the elements for this salad ahead of time. Then arrange the salad in a bowl or on a platter and dress it when ready to serve.
    The pancetta and beets can be cooked ahead. Keep cooked pancetta covered at room temperature for up to a day. The beets can be cooked, peeled and refrigerated. The nuts can be roasted and set aside. The blue cheese can be crumbled.

    lettuce wedge salad with beets and blue cheese

    Other favorite salad recipes:

    • Sesame Ginger Beef Salad
    • Grilled Pita Salad with Lemon Chicken Kabobs
    • Warm Salmon and Arugula Pasta Salad

    Let me know how it went!

    Scroll to the bottom of the page to rate ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and comment on this recipe. Leaving comments helps other too!

    new lettuce wedge salad with beets and bacon on platter

    The New Iceberg Wedge Salad

    Tara Teaspoon
    Turn the classic lettuce wedge salad into a masterpiece by adding diced pancetta, roasted beets and hazelnuts.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4
    Calories 873 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 Red and golden beets
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
    • 1 tablespoon Olive oil
    • ¾ pound pancetta
    • 1 head Iceberg lettuce
    • ½ cup Hazelnuts
    • ½ cup Roquefort cheese (or other blue cheese)

    Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette

    • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
    • ½ clove minced garlic
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley chopped
    • ½ cup Extra-virgin olive oil

    Instructions
     

    For Salad

    • 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.   
    • Dice pancetta into ½-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 for the dressing.
    • Slice iceberg lettuce and serve with pancetta, sliced beets, toasted hazelnuts, crumbled Roquefort cheese and Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette.

    For Vinaigrette

    • Stir together lemon juice, garlic, black pepper, sugar and flat-leaf parsley. Combine reserved pancetta fat and enough extra-virgin olive oil to make ½ cup and whisk into dressing.

    Notes

    • Prepare the ingredients the day before. See tips in the post.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 873kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 21gFat: 83gSaturated Fat: 22gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 46gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 1726mgPotassium: 647mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1121IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 253mgIron: 2mg
    Want to watch videos to show you how to cook?Check out our Youtube and try this recipe and more.

    Awesome Side Dish Recipes!

    • Cashew Crunch Salad
    • Orange Glazed Carrots
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    • Authentic Creamy Black Beans
    • Rosemary Honey Glazed Carrots
    • Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
    • Asparagus Puff Pastry with Cracked Pepper Cottage Cheese
    • Pomegranate Wild Rice and Roasted Squash Salad
    Tara in kitchen making salad

    About Tara Teaspoon

    I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.

    Find out more!

    Recipe by Tara Teaspoon. Originally published LHJ 08/11. Photography Yunhee Kim and Lindsay Steele. Food Styling Paul Grimes and Lindsay Steele.

    « Honey Glazed Carrots
    Orange Glazed Carrots »

    Filed Under: Bacon, Dressing Recipes, Salads Tagged With: bacon, beets, dinner, dressing, healthy, ice burg, lettuce, pancetta, roasting, salad, side, the new wedge salad, vinaigrette, wedge, wedge salad

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. minihttp.com says

      October 25, 2015 at 4:38 pm

      Este recetario está concebido sobre todo para contener recetas simples vegetarianas, no obstante asimismo hay sugerencias más elaboradas.

      Reply
      • Tara says

        October 26, 2015 at 9:19 pm

        Gracias por su comentaria. Si, tengo recetas vegetarianas y mas elaboradas. Tiene que buscar vedura en la area de "search".

        Reply
    2. Mary says

      July 19, 2018 at 3:39 pm

      So very pretty!

      Reply
    3. Julie says

      January 09, 2020 at 9:55 am

      You had me at pancetta & cheese! Delicious and lovely presentation.

      Reply
    4. Marie says

      April 25, 2020 at 5:07 pm

      I love wedge salad. The addition of beets and pancetta really kicks this salad up a notch and makes it a meal on its own!

      Reply
    5. Lindsay says

      May 09, 2022 at 5:10 pm

      This wedge salad was so good! The dressing is to die for!

      Reply

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