How ‘Master Chef’ Graham Elliot Makes a Classic Iceberg Wedge Salad
This week, we’re spotlighting recipes from Cooking Like a Master Chef: 100 Recipes to Make the Everyday Extraordinary by Graham Elliot (Atria Books). Elliot oversees Graham Elliot Bistro in Chicago and stars on Fox’s popular culinary competition shows, MasterChef and MasterChef Junior.
Iceberg Wedge with Smoked Bacon and Roquefort Dressing (Photograph by Anthony Tahlier)
Iceberg Wedge with Smoked Bacon and Roquefort Dressing
Serves 4
When you put some lettuce underneath bacon and blue cheese, it’s easier to rationalize eating those two rascals. And while arugula and field greens are more trendy, I like iceberg lettuce. It has great flavor and is super crisp, and deserves more love than being relegated to the space between the burger and the bun.
2 heads iceberg lettuce, outer leaves removed if necessary
8 ounces unsliced smoked bacon
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
2 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup)
Leaves from 2 sprigs tarragon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes or other ripe tomatoes, very thinly sliced
Freshly cracked black pepper
Quarter the heads of lettuce from stem to tip.
Chop the bacon into 1-inch square pieces and sauté in a skillet over medium heat until the fat has rendered. Using a slotted spoon, lift the bacon from the skillet and set aside on paper towels to cool and crisp up. Discard the fat.
In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, mayonnaise, ¼ cup of the cheese, and the tarragon. Season with salt and pepper.
Put two lettuce wedges on each of four salad plates. Arrange the tomato slices around the lettuce and scatter the bacon pieces over the lettuce and tomatoes. Drizzle the dressing over the lettuce and tomatoes. Finish with cracked black pepper and the remaining ¼ cup cheese.
Reprinted with permission from Cooking Like a Master Chef: 100 Recipes to Make the Everyday Extraordinary by Graham Elliot (Atria Books).
More delicious salad recipes:
Paleo Goes Tex Mex with This Taco Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Roasted Winter Squash with Kale & Pomegranate Seeds
No-Cook Chicken Salad With Spinach & Strawberries
