Why should Iceberg Wedge Salad get all of the wedge salad fun?
When I saw iceberg lettuce on our list of the week’s CSA share, I decided to make wedge salads. But when we picked up the share it was a big, beautiful head of romaine instead and I thought, “Why not?”
I admit that wedge salads take some effort to eat, more of a knife and fork situation than your typical salad. But the crunch, the blue cheese, the bacon (or pork belly!) – trust me, it’s worth the effort.
The lettuce swap is one twist in this wedge salad, the croutons are another. We happened to have a loaf of sourdough bread, but I couldn’t bear to turn on the oven (It’s still really hot here!) So I decided to pan fry fresh bread cubes in butter. They turned out so well that I’ll be making them often – crispy on the outside, soft in the middle.
This salad is hearty enough to make a light meal on its own, but we often serve it along with my favorite turkey meatloaf.
Romaine Wedge Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Homemade Ranch Dressing
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 slices sourdough bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 slices thick bacon cut crosswise into thin strips
- 1 large head romaine lettuce quartered lengthwise into wedges
- 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
- finely chopped chives optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sourdough cubes; cook and stir until cubes are lightly browned on all sides. Remove from skillet and reserve.
- Add bacon to same skillet; cook and stir until bacon is crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towel to drain.
- Carefully rinse and dry romaine wedges, doing your best to keep them intact.
- Arrange romaine wedges on a platter. Drizzle desired amount of dressing on salad and sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Serve.
I am a salad fanatic, especially for salads that have ranch dressing! YUM! And blue cheese is my weakness ;), so this salad looks like heaven in a bowl! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing! 😀
Thanks so much!
I’ve actually never made a wedge salad before – now how is that?! This looks wonderful – so pretty, too!
Wow, Helen! You’ve got to try one…come on over. 🙂
Ah, this is what I should have done with the wedge of romaine I got in my CSA! I definitely prefer it to iceberg – great idea!
Thanks, Joanne!
You are right – wedge salads can be challenging to eat – so I LOVE your version with romaine leaves! Quicker the time from plate to mouth – the happier I am 🙂
haha 🙂 Thanks, Shashi!
I love fresh romaine. The combo with bacon and blue cheese sounds fresh and delicious!!
Thanks, Mary – me too!
Simple and delicious. Here I sit with wool pants, a heavy sweater AND shoes but I would devour this salad in a minute!
It’s so funny having opposite seasons, isn’t it? Thanks, Maureen. 🙂
Love wedge salads! This one looks perfect! So fresh! Pinned!
Thank you, Mira!
This looks amazing and so fresh 🙂
Thanks, Medha. 🙂
making this tonight! Yum!
Love it! Thanks, Kimberly!
OMG this looks so heavenly!!! YUM!!!! Great job Marissa!
So sweet…thank you!
This sounds like such a great way to eat fresh summer lettuce! It’s practically an entire meal in itself. 🙂
Exactly! Keith and I ate the whole darn platter. 🙂
Well hello there! I could grind on this no problem and mainly because you were brilliant enough to ditch the tasteless Iceberg lettuce. To me it’s just water…
Ranch and bleu cheese crumbles sound great and how could they not be married with bacon. Yum on all counts! The micro chives all perfect and so beautiful on this.
We do lots of grilling here in the heat and salads are always welcomed. 🙂
Thank you, Kevin! Yes, you’ve had your share of heat in SD this year – the right time for salads!
This wedge salad looks perfect, Marissa! I love both ideas of swapping the iceberg for romaine (I always buy romaine so that works out perfectly for me) and the idea of pan frying the croutons. I can imagine those croutons to just be as perfect as you described with the crusty exterior and chewy interior. Beautiful and delicious-looking salad, Marissa!
Thank you, Beeta. The pan-fried croutons really are a keeper. And it’s much more convenient for me as I don’t tend to keep traditional croutons on hand.
Hi Marissa! What perfect timing! I picked up two really nice heads of organic Romaine yesterday and a piece of Amish bleu and I always have good thick bacon on hand! It is definitely salad weather here. I started pan frying croutons for the very same reason as you.
We’re simpatico! 🙂 And I love Amish blue..tangy, creamy goodness!
Homemade ranch bacon and blue cheese, sign me up! I just made a huge batch of homemade croutons today too. Perfect timing.
Perfect! Enjoy! 🙂
Try grilling the romain. Cut heads in half length-wise, spray with olive oil. Grill cut side down on a hot bbq for a couple of minutes.
Great idea, Paul! We’ll have to try that next time…
Hehe can we have some of your heat Marissa? We’re freezing here at the moment and I’m dreaming of wedge salads 😀
Okay, but send your chilly days our way – I’m in the mood for reading a book by the fire. 🙂
Mmm… I love wedge salads! Add some bacon and blue cheese and I’m in heaven! And your homemade ranch dressing… sounds incredible, a must-make!
I’m with you, Kathleen. And, really do try the ranch – it’s so simple but really is delicious for a dressing or dip.