“You’ll be so proud of me. I ordered lettuce on my hamburger at lunch today.”

Aaahhh. The ongoing adventure of trying to get my husband to eat more plants. And for the record, I was extremely proud of him. Even more so when he responded, “Let’s eat a salad,” when I ask him what he wanted for dinner.

Light, crisp, and fresh, wedge salads are currently one of our favorite weekend lunches. Iceberg lettuce gets a bad rap for being decidedly un-gourmet but try to dress a BLT with anything else. It’s not my favorite salad green but it’s crisp and crunch definitely makes iceberg my favorite dressing green. And it’s one of the few green things that my husband will eat voluntarily.

My favorite wedge salad includes:
1/4 head iceberg lettuce
Crumbled gorgonzola or goat cheese
Crispy pancetta
Chopped Roma tomatoes
Fresh basil
Salt & Vinegar or Sugared almonds
Merlot vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Merlot Vinaigrette
1/4 cup Merlot vinegar (or your favorite red wine vinegar)
1/2 tsp honey
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
liberal amount of ground black pepper
pinch of sea salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Whisk all ingredients together while streaming in the olive oil. Go heavy on the black pepper for a peppery vinaigrette.

More salads:
Spinach & Nectarine Salad
Rosemary Coleslaw
Avocado & Orange Salad