Wedge Salad with Cambozola Cream Dressing

45 mins Prep Time

20 mins Cook Time

Written By

Robin Winship

Who doesn't love a wedge salad. Cold crispy iceberg has to be one of the most underrated types of lettuce out there. This salad is doused in a tangy Cambozola dressing and sprinkled with a generous amount of parmesan, bacon, toasted breadcrumbs, roasted pine nuts and finished with a generous amount of fresh chives, thinly shaved radishes and pickled pearl onions. It is everything I want in a salad; rich in flavour, yet bright and refreshing with different textural components.

Pair this wedge with a juicy steak or barbecued chicken.

Ingredients

Wedge Salad

1 head of iceberg lettuce
6 strips of bacon
1/4 pine nuts, raw
1/4 chives, finely chopped
1/3 cup peeled pickled pearl onions (see recipe)
1/4 cup Cambozola dressing (see recipe)
1/2 breadcrumbs (see recipe)
4 radishes, thinly sliced (can use mandoline)
1/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated on a microplane

Breadcrumbs

140g country bread (3 thick slices)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Pickled Pearl Onions

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup red pearl onions, peeled

Cambozola Dressing

60g Cambozola
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 buttermilk
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Pickled Pearl Onions

4 Steps

Step 1

Cut small amount off each end of the onion (root and tail), remove skin and halve. Separate individual onion layers from one another by peeling apart with hands. Set aside in shallow dish.
Step 2

Add the water, vinegar, salt and sugar to a small pot and simmer until salt and sugar completely dissolves.
Step 3

Pour the pickling liquid over the onions and make sure they are fully submerged (an easy way to do this is to cover dish with parchment paper and place something heavy atop the dish).
Step 4

Set aside until ready to use or place in fridge if making a day ahead.

Breadcrumbs

6 Steps

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2

Measure out 140g of country bread or simply cut 3 thick slices.
Step 3

Pulse in a food processor until the texture of course sand is achieved.
Step 4

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil, swirling pan to coat. Add breadcrumbs and toast until golden brown colour is achieved (stir occasionally but be careful not to burn).
Step 5

Add 2 tbsp of butter, stir until butter is melted, season with salt and pepper.
Step 6

Spread breadcrumbs out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes. Stirring halfway through. Breadcrumbs should be relatively dark brown in colour and quite crispy. Remove from oven and set aside.

Cambozola Dressing

1 Steps

Step 1

Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until smooth, taste for seasoning.

Assembly

6 Steps

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2

Toss pine nuts with 1/2 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and roast for 6 minutes, stir halfway through. Keep an eye on the pine nuts, they burn easily.
Step 3

Cook bacon over medium-high heat in a frying pan, start bacon in a cold pan. Set aside on a paper towel and once slightly cool, crumble.
Step 4

Cut iceberg wedge in half horizontally, score halves in quarters without cutting fully through. Rinse as best you can.
Step 5

Drizzle very lightly with olive oil, squeeze a small amount of fresh lemon juice and sprinkle a pinch of salt on wedge.
Step 6

Plate the two halves, spread with desired amount of dressing (getting in between layers as best you can), sprinkle with grated parmesan, shingle thin layers of radish, sprinkle breadcrumbs, pine nuts, bacon and chives. Finish with pickled pearl onions and a few more radish slices on top.