Like most people, I grew up on the classic iceberg wedge salad. I still think it’s one of the great side dishes, especially with a few new touches–like using more unusual and flavorful lettuces. I start with tender Bibb lettuce and add endive and radicchio for their crunchy texture and slightly bitter flavor. Prepare this in advance because the lettuce needs time to chill and crisp in the refrigerator.–Sara Foster
LC Inching Away from Iceberg Note
Remember those pale wedges of iceberg? The ones with the rust marks along the edges that were barely discernible beneath blobs of bottled blue cheese dressing? Yeah, us too. Not that this lovely little salad plate will remind you of it. Not at all.
Bibb Wedges, Radicchio, Endive, and Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe
Hands-On Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Serves 4
Ingredients
- For the wedge salad
- 1 head bibb lettuce
- 1 head radicchio
- 1 Belgian endive
- 1 ounce (about 1/4 cup) crumbled blue cheese
- For the blue cheese dressing
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup buttermilk, from a well-shaken carton
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Make the wedge salad
- 1. Cut the lettuce, radicchio, and endive into quarters through the stem ends, leaving the cores intact. Soak them in a large bowl of cold water to clean them thoroughly. Drain well and wrap the quarters, a few at a time, in paper towels to dry completely. Place the wrapped quarters in plastic bags and refrigerate for at least several hours or up to overnight to chill and crisp. Chill 4 salad plates in the refrigerator.
- Make the blue cheese dressing
- 2. Place the mayonnaise, blue cheese, buttermilk, and vinegar in a blender and pulse several times, until the dressing is partially pureed with some chunks of cheese remaining. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- 3. To serve, remove the lettuce, radicchio, endive, and salad plates from the refrigerator. Cut the cores from the lettuce, radicchio, and endive wedges, leaving the leaves of the wedges intact; discard the cores. Place one lettuce wedge, one radicchio wedge, and one endive wedge on each plate. Drizzle the blue cheese dressing over the salad, top with the blue cheese, season with additional salt and pepper if desired, and serve chilled.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Bacon and Blue Cheese Wedge Salad from Ezra Pound Cake
- Boston Bibb Salad with Pecans, Blue Cheese, and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette from The Bacon Show
- Salad with Caramelized Pumpkin Seeds, Pears, and Pomegranate from Leite's Culinaria
- Butter Lettuce and Fresh Herbs with Maytag Blue Cheese from Leite's Culinaria
Bibb Wedges, Radicchio, Endive, and Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe © 2007 Sara Foster. Photo © 2007 Quentin Bacon. All rights reserved.
