For Better Wedge Salads, Improve Your Salad
The wedge salad is often referred to as nothing more than a medium for making blue cheese and crispy pork chunks. I don’t think there’s anything bad about that. In fact, I think lettuce should aim for a cheese and bacon delivery system, but you can make your wedge a little more nutritious (and flavorful) by replacing the iceberg with something more distinctive.
Of course there are rules. Replacing the iceberg with something like spinach or arugula is not a good move, my friends. The iceberg’s biggest feature is its cool and crunchy texture, and you need that crunch, especially if you’re a little heavy on blue cheese. You need something with some structure, something that can ideally be cut into a wedge .
Radicchio and Treviso (which are essentially the kinder and softer Radicchio) are my favorites for this. The bitter taste of the purple leaves not only unfolds completely, but also gives the salad even more size and variety in terms of taste. This will prevent salt and fat from saturating your palate, which means you can wipe out a whole wedge of plant matter with ease (which is great).
If the two are a little bitter, half roman will work as well. If you want to go crazy, you can grill romaine. For a tiny look at the wedge, consider cutting the endive heads in half or breaking them into small leaves and folding the filling of the wedge into their natural spoons, creating perfectly harmonious bites. And, if you get tired of the leaves, you can always sprinkle the filling onto the pile of fries. (Top with blue cheese, then sprinkle with bacon, fried onions, scallions and drizzle with blue cheese sauce.) It won’t be more nutritious than an iceberg, but it will be very, very tasty.