Hey folks, we’re going to enjoy a short, simple dish this week. I’m in the middle of prep for a two-week stretch of recipe development, hopefully my last big push in the kitchen before I focus on writing other parts of my next book!
I think there’s something unfairly simple about wedge salads. They’re a cinch to put together at home, but I often find myself ordering them at restaurants, despite the fact that I’m paying someone to simply chop a head of lettuce into quarters. This week’s recipe is the classic preparation of the dish, which is wonderful in its ease and approachability; for something a little more challenging, I encourage you to check out my Muffuletta Wedge Salad recipe from last year.
A little history on wedge salads, from The Ancestral Table:
Salads served wedge-style date back to the 1910s and reached peak popularity in the 1960s. Iceberg lettuce, the staple lettuce used in this dish, has slowly been replaced by leaf lettuces over the years, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for this crispy, blank-canvas lettuce; it stays fresher longer than leaf lettuces and pairs better with creamy dressings and heavier toppings, as in this recipe.
Wedge Salad (Gluten-free, Paleo, Primal)
This recipe first appeared in my debut cookbook, The Ancestral Table
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise (recipe here)
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
4 oz crumbled blue cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 head iceberg lettuce
20 grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
4 radishes, thinly sliced
6 oz bacon, cooked and chopped
1. In a bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir in half of the blue cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. The dressing can be used immediately, but for best results, cover and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours to let the flavors marry.
2. Core and quarter the head of lettuce, then top each wedge with dressing, tomatoes, radishes, bacon, and the other half of the crumbled blue cheese.
The Domestic Man 
This looks really good! Great post!
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Making this tonight.
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Looks refreshing, this would be a perfect side dish for spicy chicken :D
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cheese and sour cream are paleo?
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It depends on your interpretation of the diet (there are definitely varying opinions out there!). I’m of the opinion that fermented and dairy, like yogurt, sour cream, and cheeses (and dairy high in butterfat, like cream and butter) are okay if you can tolerate them.
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Oh my goodness… thank you, Russ, for teaching me an essential new life skill – how to make phenomenal blue cheese dressing at home. I think my life is now complete :) This salad is so good in its awesome simplicity.
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