Iceberg Wedge Salad

Recipe: Iceberg Wedge Salad

Iceberg Wedge Salad is a delicious, healthy way to enjoy crisp and crunchy lettuce. The classic wedge salad has a topping of bacon crumbles, onion and tomatoes with a generous drizzle of blue cheese dressing. My version of the Iceberg Wedge Salad is different- a vegetarian one. As a vegetarian I don’t have bacon and not exactly a huge fan of blue cheese dressing. If given an option I’d rather  reach out for other dressings.

I had prepared this wedge salad was as a side for my Christmas Party. Naturally, at that time cranberries and nuts appeared pretty much in most of the dishes. You know for that festive look. Hubby liked how pretty it looked and insisted I take photos. I wanted to prepare the salad again with other toppings at a later date. I did but didn’t get a chance to take photos. So for now the below photos will have to do.

Memories

The first time I came across Iceberg Lettuce Wedge Salad was in a magazine while I was waiting for my haircut at a beauty salon. I wanted to so try the recipe, which I did, my version. Bacon was out, didn’t get blue cheese. Excitedly I bought iceberg from the vegetable market but it was not crispy. Well, that is always the case when we would buy iceberg lettuce in Mombasa. The cold chain is practically non existent and the lettuce comes all the way from Nairobi. To use a few leaves, it was easy to soak them in ice cold water before adding to a salad. I soaked the whole lettuce in ice cold water. The leaves didn’t crisp up well. Hubby didn’t enjoy the salad at all. Therefore the idea got shelved and I forgot about it, till I reached Canada. Iceberg lettuces are so crispy and crunchy and stay that way for over a week in the fridge. And that is when I tried out the recipe again.

Sharing This Recipe With 2024 Alphabet Challenge Group

We’ve reached letter I, wow. And the excitement of learning new recipes from members of the group has not ceased.  I’m in India and had some of my posted scheduled before I travelled as I didn’t want to miss out on participating in this fun group. If I were back home I would have prepared Idra which is a Gujarati Steamed Snack. I want to redo the old post. But I guess it will have to wait. Instead, I chose to share this easy salad recipes. Thank God, hubby had insisted I take photos when I prepared it for Christmas.

 

Some I Recipes On My Blog

 

Hubby and I enjoy oniony minty Indori Masala Parathas with pickle and masala tea for breakfast.

Idiyappam is another of our favourite breakfast or rather brunch dish.

Recipes With Letter I By Members Of  The Group

• Sneha’s Recipe: Instant White Dhokla
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Iceberg Wedge Salad 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Instant Pot Bean and Smoked Pork Soup 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Italian Beef Sandwiches 
• Culinary Cam: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Saffron-Cardamom Ice Cream 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Italian Pane di Genzano 
• Magical Ingredients: Instant Aloo Paratha 
• Palatable Pastime: Indonesian Bami Goreng 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Orange & Feta Italian Orzo Pasta Salad
• Blogghetti: Strawberry Hibiscus Iced Tea Recipe
• Food Lust People Love: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

 

Ingredients Required For Iceberg Wedge Salad

As I mentioned above, the classic Iceberg Lettuce Wedge Salad has a topping of bacon, onion, tomatoes and blue cheese salad dressing. My version is more suitable for vegetarians like me.

Iceberg Lettuce

Choose a small or medium fresh crisp head. Place it on the chopping board with the stem part up. Using the stem part as a guidance cut the lettuce head into half. Then cut each half into halves. Now you have 4 wedges or quarters of lettuce. Wash the wedges in cold water. I like to place the wedges on a cotton kitchen towel so all the water gets absorbed. Pat it down completely with paper towel. If not using immediately, store the wedges in the fridge. Just before serving cut off the stem part and place the wedges on individual side plates.

Cranberries

I used dried cranberries. Chop them into smaller pieces. If you don’t want the sweetness from the cranberries then use sun dried tomatoes.

Pecans

Use any nuts of your choice like walnuts, cashew nuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, etc. Roast them lightly on a pan for 2-3 minutes or in the microwave oven for 2 minutes.

Pumpkin Seeds

Adding seeds is optional but I like the added nutritional value it adds to the salad. Roast them lightly in a pan or in the microwave oven for 1-2 minutes. Can replace the seeds with sunflower, sesame or flax seeds.

Feta

I used crumbled feta.

Red Chilli Flakes

For a bit of kick and balance of flavours. Optional, if you don’t like the heat from the chilli flakes.

Fresh Parsley

Finely chopped. Can use other fresh herbs like cilantro, mint, oregano.

Salt

Add according to your taste.

Pepper

Freshly cracked black pepper. Add according to your taste.

Salad Dressing

A creamy one goes well with iceberg lettuce. You can use blue cheese salad dressing. I used ready made Ranch Dressing.

 

Some Ideas That You Can Use As A Topping For Iceberg Wedge Salad

• chopped tomatoes
• chopped onion
• chopped cucumber
• avocado cut into small pieces
• cooked or raw beetroot
• Different Cheese: Goat Cheese, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Paneer, Tofu
• Other Dried Fruits like raisins, chopped figs, apricots, goji berries, etc
• Add fresh fruit like strawberries, blueberries, figs, pomegranate, etc
• Dressing: besides Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing use Caesar, Avocado, Yogurt ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Small Request:

If you do try this recipe then please either

• add a comment below,
• send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
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• or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962